PrologueView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarPrologueOne day in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and Spike were outside Fluttershy's cottage, near the trees. "Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I'd meet aliens any day, but dragging one out of their world?", Spike asked. "We're not exactly dragging one out. We're just observing. The extraterrestrial being will pass through one portal and reenter his or her world through another.", Twilight said, taking notes on a paper and quill while talking. "I don't know, Twilight. This doesn't seem like a good idea.", Spike said. "Come on, when have my experiments ever let anypony down?", Twilight asked. Spike started counting with his fingers, before Twilight spoke up again. "OK, OK, never mind. But every failure is a step closer to success, remember.", the lavender alicorn said. "Every failure, or every broken bone?", Spike asked. Twilight gave a deadpan stare at Spike. "Spike...", Twilight groaned. "I'm just kidding, relax.", Spike said. "I trust you." "Thanks, Spike.", Twilight said, as she smiled at her #1 Assistant. She rolled up the scroll and stuck the quill inside before levitating it out to Spike. "Here, hold this.", Twilight said, as she dropped the rolled up paper and quill in Spike's arms. She cracked her neck and flexed her wings, before slowly focusing her magic at the task at hoof. Her horn began to glow a lavender color, she fired a burst of magic, which spawned two massive portals in the field, with at least 10 meters of space between with them. "I did it!", Twilight said. "Run to town and bring the Elements of Harmony over, Spike!" "Why me? You can fly.", Spike said. "I have to stay here and maintain the portals to keep them from expanding and destroying the whole world!", Twilight said. Spike blinked. "I'll be right back.", he said, before zooming off. Twilight smiled before turning back to focus on the portal. "With what I did, we can explore more worlds, and bring more of everypony into friendship! We'll instate world peace!", Twilight said, already imagining how she would talk to other species and show them the Magic Of Friendship, and explain how Friendship Is Magic. Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled the air. Twilight backed away nervously to a tree, before hiding behind it. All of a sudden, a torrent of water roared out of the portal, splashing everywhere like an over-pressurized pipe. Twilight quickly flew up into the tree before the massive wave sent her drowning. Twilight was horrified at how much water was flowing through, but her surprise and horror increased even more when a giant boat flowed in. The boat was giant and blocky, with the front positioned like a ramp. There was no roof, or ceiling, and it was packed to the rim with humans, which Twilight recognized as since her visits to Canterlot High. Every single human inside wore green fatigues, as well as green helmets. There were two humans in the back, each one in a hatch or some sort. Each human held a long object, wrapped in a long plastic bag probably to protect them from water. The boat rocked around in the massive current from the overflowing portal, before tipping over, every single helmet donning human falling into the water. Seconds after falling in, the humans resurfaced, as the overflow carried them down the hill at an alarming speed. She could hear the screams of the humans inside as they were being dragged down the current. Twilight watched where the water was flowing, before gasping. "Ponyville!!", she cried. She was about to close the portal, when yet another boat was forced inside. This one also was full of humans, but it was about half as big. The boat capsized, and once again, the empty boat and the humans inside were carried towards Ponyville. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!!", Twilight cried. She closed the portals, luckily stopping the flow of water. However, there must've been over thousands of gallons that flowed down the hill. Twilight quickly took flight and landed on a cloud. She turned towards Ponyville, and gasped. The whole town was flooded in at least three feet of water. As well as the humans swimming desperately to buildings, ponies were trapped in the water. The current was strong enough to send one of the boats, the giant one, flying into the Sweet Apple Acres barn, smashing it apart. The second smaller boat flew and completely demolished Carousel Boutique, wood and metal crashing everywhere. Twilight gulped nervously when she saw both buildings practically explode, before flying down towards the water-crippled town. The ponies were panicking, looking for any loved ones washed away by the flood, while the helmeted humans were getting up and helping the other humans up to their feet. POV: Lt. Edward Peers Edward walked over to a building and pounded on the door, only for the door to break down. He stepped inside the building, to see some of the ponies gallop away in panic. "Hello? Anyone here?", he asked, whilst taking off the plastic wrap off his BAR, or Browning Automatic Rifle. He took off his magazine, to see the clip still had 20 rounds in them. He reloaded it and started to search the house. The house's windows were shattered, probably from the flood, and there was water, broken vases, glass, wood, and other objects lying on the ground. The American lieutenant walked back outside, to see all the men walking towards a giant round building, most likely the town square of whatever this pony-driven town was. The troops, at least two or three platoons, set up camps around the building. The American soldiers were huddled around fires they created with the several giant splinters of wood and their cigarette lighters. Medics tended to the wounded, and the engineers created makeshift barricades with their barbed wire and sandbags. Edward hurried over to the camps, and saw a soldier with a Grease Gun sitting on a sandbag. "Hey, what's the situation?", the lieutenant asked. "At least a dozen wounded. None of the medics, thank God. And we're a long way from Normandy.", the other soldier said. "I saw a bunch of ponies or small horses around here. Think they run this town?", Edward asked. "All due respect, sir? I'm thinking we're all dead.", the soldier said, before taking out a cigarette, lighting it, and tossing it into one of the fires. Edward sat down and took out a cigarette, only to see it was soaked. He checked his pack, and saw all his cigarettes were soggy as well. "Shit...", Edward groaned. He tossed the pack, before he heard a light sound, like footsteps. He turned and saw a lavender pony with a horn on its forehead and wings tucked in, trotting towards the camp. Edward took his BAR and strolled over to the pony. Another soldier armed with a Thompson walked over with him. "Hi, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle.", the pony said. Edward and the soldier stared suspiciously at the pony. "I see you are hurt and lost, and I'm willing to give shelter at the Friendship Castle.", Twilight Sparkle said, growing a bit uncertain. Edward looked over at the soldier, who shrugged, before they both aimed their weapons at Twilight. Twilight recoiled in surprise. She didn't recognize the BAR, or the Thompson, but she assumed they were weapons. "I-I don't mean any hostility, I assure you, I just-", Twilight said, before a blue blur tackled the soldier with the Thompson to the ground. The soldier coughed and looked up to see a cyan pony with wings glaring down at him. She had magenta eyes and a rainbow mane and tail. "Hey, you don't hurt any of my friends!", the blue pony yelled, before Edward grabbed her by the mane and flung her at the town building. The blue pony crashed into the wall, and a couple soldiers ran to retrieve her. Some other soldiers saw what was going on and ran towards Twilight. "You alright, soldier?", Edward asked. "Yeah, thank you, sir.", the Thompson wielding soldier said. Some ponies came out of the buildings, seeing one of their friends get thrown into the town hall. They galloped out and formed a line around the camp. All the soldiers saw this and grabbed their weapons. Browning M1919s were set up, and all the soldiers got to cover, ready for battle. "Hold it!! HOLD IT!!", Edward yelled, as he sent the other trooper back to cover. "There's no need to fight!!", Twilight yelled, as the ponies reluctantly backed down. Edward sighed as he slung the BAR over his shoulder. "Lieutenant Edward Peers of the United States Army. Second Platoon, Seventh Infantry Division.", he said. "Twilight Sparkle, Princess Of Friendship.", Twilight said. Before Edward could laugh, a boom filled the air. Everyone and everypony turned to the hills. On the hills, several Type 3 Chi-Nu tanks were rolling towards Ponyville, with several Japanese soldiers charging with them. "Japs?! What're they doing here?", a soldier said. "We're on the Western Front, not the damn Pacific!", another soldier said. "Who cares?! Prepare for battle!!", Edward yelled. A tank fired, and the top of the town hall exploded. The ponies screamed as they galloped to cover. The soldiers yelled as they scrambled to the other buildings, getting ready for battle. "Princess, I advise you take cover.", Edward said, before he and a fireteam of soldiers ran to cover. The 30 Caliber Browning machine stayed in place, with a team manning it, as well as a couple of riflemen. Twilight gulped, before flying towards a cloud. The blue rainbow maned and tailed Pegasus quickly galloped away before flying. "Dear Celestia...", Twilight gasped as she saw the sheer number of enemy soldiers charging at Ponyville. Author's Note I'm making a WW2 crossover. You're probably wondering why I'm making another fimfiction while I have another one in progress. I like to alternate between stories, thus giving me two purposes to tend to. When I lose inspiration for one story, I gain inspiration for the other. This helps me stay on track.
Battle For PonyvilleView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarBattle For PonyvilleA Kurogane Type 95 drove in, with a mounted Type 92 machine gun firing at the scrambling Americans. Two riflemen opened fire as the jeep drove around the square. Twilight saw the blue Pegasus flying towards her, and she quickly motioned for her to get down. "Rainbow Dash, what the hay were you thinking?", Twilight hissed, as gunfire roared through the town. "I don't know! I just saw you with those...those guys about to hurt you and-", Rainbow Dash said, before another boom silenced her. Two tanks rolled over a building, firing their guns. Another building exploded, as some ponies galloped away, screaming. The jeep chased after them, the machine gun opened fire. The ponies' legs exploded as high caliber rounds ripped through them like nothing. "FIRE!!" An American soldier fired a bazooka at the jeep, immediately blowing it up in a plume of fire. Meanwhile in Canterlot Princess Celestia's eyes jolted wide as she swore she heard a tiny boom in the distance. She stepped away from her desk, overflowing with paperwork, and turned to the window. She trotted to the window, and saw fire and smoke rising out of Ponyville, as well as strange creatures charging towards the little town. "Guards!! Prepare the carriage! There's a situation!", Celestia cried, as she hurried out of the room. Back in Ponyville "FIRE!!" The Browning ripped through a group of Japanese soldiers, killing them instantly. Two soldiers fired Winchester Model 70s at Japanese soldiers running through the town square. A tank completely destroyed a small treehouse, before running over the tree as overkill. Edward ran up to the tank and fired a two round burst with his BAR, popping the hatch. He tossed a grenade inside and ran off, before the whole tank turret exploded. The tank stopped rolling sitting lopsided while still on the tree. Edward emptied the rest of his clip at a group of Japanese suicide soldiers, before he ran over and grabbed the satchel charge from a dead Jap. He ignited it and hurled it at a jeep. The explosive landed inside, and the car exploded seconds after. "Football. Best sport, my ass.", Edward muttered. A Japanese soldier ran over with a Type 100 submachine gun. Edward tackled him before he could fire, the SMG flying out of his hands. The two rolled on the ground, fighting against the BAR pressed against them. "ぬ、あなたのたわごと!", the Japanese soldier yelled. "English, have you heard of it?!", Edward yelled, as he swung the BAR. The soldier lost his grip and rolled to the ground. Twilight gasped when she saw Edward about to shoot the Japanese soldier. She quickly took flight and landed between the fallen Japanese and the angry American. "Twilight!", Rainbow Dash cried. "Stop! He's hurt!", Twilight said, spreading her wings. "Move it!", Edward said. "No! We can use friendship to solve this!", Twilight cried. "MOVE!!", Edward roared. Before Twilight could move, she froze. Looking down, she saw the handle of a knife pressed against her chest, with the Japanese soldier's gloved hand clutching it. Blood began to ooze out of the alicorn's chest, and she fell to the ground, gasping in pain. Edward fired a round into the soldier's face, before running to Twilight. "Idiot.", he muttered, before he quickly slung his weapon on his back and picked her up. She weighed about 100 pounds, and Edward could run to cover without being weighed down. A tank started chasing him, firing its main cannon. Edward was sent flying into a building, shattering the window, and hitting the floor. Edward got up and looked around, a white coated pony with a pink mane and blue eyes hid behind a desk, shaking. Edward noticed she had a nurse's cap. "Are you a doctor?", Edward asked. The nurse gulped and nodded. "Good, take care of her.", Edward said, before another tank shot demolished the wall. "Go, go, go!!", Edward yelled. The nurse whimpered and quickly got Twilight to a room safe from the battle. Edward reloaded his BAR, and was about to step outside, before an American and a Japanese soldier crashed through the window, which was already broken. The Jap was about to savagely stab the American, when Edward emptied half his clip into him. When the Japanese soldier fell, his stomach was missing. Edward ran outside, when he saw the same Japanese tank that chased him right in front of him. The main gun aimed right down his head. Edward was about to embrace death itself, when a massive beam of light completely obliterated the tank, destroying it and sending Edward and a couple other soldiers flying. Edward groaned and opened his eyes. He saw a giant white pony with majestic wings and a long horn flying down, with several armored flying ponies accompanying her. "Destroy those things! I'l take care of the humans.", the pony said, as she turned to a tank that was charging at her. Edward got up and started running towards the town square. The team manning the Browning 30. Cal was dead, and the two snipers had run off. Edward looked around. He saw the soldiers fighting, wrecked and burning buildings, and several tanks rolling around. Suddenly, a bright flash of light caught everyone's attention, and a massive shockwave sent the soldiers flying, and the vehicles tipping. Everything was silent, and when everyone got up, they were surrounded and corralled in the town square. The armored ponies, guards, were in a line, keeping them in. There were about a hundred twenty Americans, and two hundred Japanese. They all lowered their weapons and knelt down, Edward included. "Princess Celestia, what do we do?", the guard captain asked. "Separate them. Green and tan.", Celestia said. The Americans and Japanese were forced into groups, as they were kept from taking their weapons. A Japanese soldier quickly grabbed a rock and smashed a guard's head, before using the rock to ignite a grenade in his chest pack. He let out a yell as he charged into a group of guards, before the grenade detonated...as well as blowing up the three satchel charges tied on him. Him, as well as ten guards, exploded in smoke and blood. Moments after the explosion, the other Japanese roared as they broke the group and started savagely attacking the Americans and ponies. The remaining tanks started moving again, and soon, chaos and panic struck the guards, breaking the line. "Move!!", an American soldier yelled, as he grabbed a Thompson on the ground and shot a couple Japs running at him. Soon, the Americans had grabbed their guns and started fighting again. Celestia fired bursts of energy at the Japanese, knocking them down, before taking flight and firing a ray of energy at the soldiers in tan. The giant ray of light vaporized most of them, and the Americans gunned down the rest. The last of the tanks were destroyed as well. Soon, the Americans were victorious, and they were tending to their wounded. Celestia walked up to a soldier, who only glared back at her. "Who's your leader?', she asked with a calm yet intimidating voice. The soldier only pointed to Edward with his M-1 Garand. Celestia trotted towards him, and cleared her throat. Edward looked at Celestia. "What?", he asked. A guard stomped his hoof. "Don't you dare talk to our princess like-", he said. "Shut up, kiss-ass.", Edward said, puffing on his cigarette. The guard let out a snarl, before Celestia held out a hoof to calm him down. "You do realize what you've done, right? You terrorized Ponyville, you got several of my ponies killed, and now Equestria is a war zone.", Celestia said. "Blame the Japs. We were taken here on our big invasion. We don't even know how we got here, and by the looks of things, neither did those Japs.", Edward pointed out. Then, two medics carrying a stretcher ran past. Celestia gasped when she saw who was on the stretcher. "Twilight!", she said, hurrying over. The white coated nurse from earlier was on the stretcher, tending to her wound. "Nurse Redheart, what happened?", Celestia asked. "There w-was an e-explosion, and o-one of them came in, with P-Princess T-Twilight, injured.", Nurse Redheart said, before she locked eyes with Edward. "There! T-That's him!", she said, pointing a blood stained hoof at the lieutenant. Celestia turned, to see Edward, dropping his cigarette. "You saved Twilight?", Celestia asked. Edward blinked. "Yeah?", he asked. Celestia sighed and bowed a little at Edward. "Thank you, I'm in your debt.", she said. Everyony was stunned that the Royal Princess herself would bow to a foreigner. But Edward sighed. "It's my job. That and dying, so there ya go.", he said. "Will she be OK?" "She's stable.", a medic said. "I think, I'm not sure how these things work." "Ahem, we're ponies.", Redheart said. The medic smirked. "Right.", he said. Celestia smiled. "So you were defending Ponyville?", she said. "Yeah, at a cost.", Edward said. He turned to see a long line of dead soldiers, their weapons at their sides. Celestia sighed. "I'm afraid war always comes at a cost.", she said. "I lost a lot of good guards in past wars." "I'll bet none of those wars were as bad as ours.", Edward said. Another guard snorted. "What kind of war did you have?", he asked, snark in his tone. "One where over 50 nations took part. A war where over 60 million are dead, and about 40 million of them are innocents!", Edward said. Everything was silent. Edward sighed. "Sorry...I...I just need a smoke.", he said, as a Grease Gun wielding sergeant handed him another cigarette.
CleanupView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarCleanupEdward tossed the burnt out cigarette and sighed. Things had gone wrong so fast. The platoons were dragged to this whole new world, and suddenly ambushed by Japanese. And the deaths of innocent ponies, as strange as it sounded, were on their hands. Edward opened his pack and took out a life ration, preserved crackers, and started to eat. They were crunchy, crunchy to the point it hurt his teeth, but food was food. It didn't have to taste good to keep you full. He looked around, and saw a gray Pegasus walking towards him. She had a blonde mane and tail, and her yellow eyes were out of proportion. She held a little basket with a blanket over it, setting it down at Edward's feet. "Muffin?", she asked in an innocent voice. Edward lifted the up blanket, and picked up a muffin from the basket. He bit into it, before smiling. It tasted grainy, but sweet. He hadn't had anything sweet since he was drafted into the army. That was such a long time ago. "Thanks.", Edward said. The cross-eyed Pegasus beamed, before flying off. Edward chuckled as he finished the muffin. He got up and picked up the muffin basket. He walked over to a soldier, and handed him a muffin. The soldier bit into it and grinned. Somewhere else Twilight groaned and woke up. She looked around and saw Celestia and a human medic over her. "Twilight, are you alright?", Celestia asked, worriedly. "Don't worry, I'm fine.", Twilight groaned. "What happened?" "The invaders were killed, and Ponyville is in recovery.", Celestia said. Twilight shuddered. Celestia looked over in worry. "What is it, Twilight?", Celestia asked. "I...I saved him. One of the attackers was about to die. And then he stabbed me.", Twilight said, the trauma returning to her features. "Why would he do that?" The human medic sighed. "Those are Japs. I never fought 'em until now, but I always heard something about never accepting surrender and fighting to the death.", he said, a slight drawl in his voice. "Well, they certainly fought to the death.", Celestia said. Twilight looked around. The massive boat was still wedged inside what was left of Carousel Boutique, and almost all the buildings were completely demolished, with Japanese tank and jeep wrecks everywhere. Pony bodies littered the ground. It wasn't a lot, but they were still horrifying to look at. The lavender alicorn's eyes watered, as she stifled a sob. "It's my fault. I brought them here, and now ponies are dead because of what I did.", she said. "Shh, Twilight. You had no way of knowing what would happen. It's not your fault.", Celestia soothed, stroking a hoof down the mane of her former student. "I still should've considered the possibilities! I should've taken precaution! I should've...I should've...", Twilight said, before she broke into crying, tears streaming down her face. "Oh, grow up!", a soldier nearby said. Celestia glared at the soldier, only to see he was turned away, and cleaning the rifle in his hands. "Excuse me, but would you please allow my student to vent?", Celestia asked, sternly. "I don't take orders from you, 'Princess'.", the soldier said, as he reloaded his M1A1 Carbine. Celestia sighed. They were soldiers, furthermore, soldiers that were from a world of destruction and chaos. She obviously wouldn't be able to get through to any of them. A giggle caught her attention, and she turned, to see a couple soldiers chatting with some ponies, as if they were friends. Maybe she wouldn't need to get through to them. She cleared her throat, before speaking up... ...in her Canterlot Royal Voice. "Everyone and everypony!!", she boomed. Everything went silent. "I understand many of you hold spite against these humans, but they have saved this town, and saved almost all of you from an invasion!! I am willing to make a proposition!!", Celestia said. The crowd of ponies and humans began to murmur in interest and confusion. Even Twilight was in the dark. Celestia spoke up again, this time, in her regular voice. "We allow these humans to help keep the peace, we will accept them into our society.", she said. The murmurs got louder, and soon, it turned into yelling. "We just accept them?! Ridiculous!!", a pony yelled. "Hey, we saved your life!!", a soldier spat at the pony. "From a war YOU started!!", the pony said. "Oh dear.", Celestia said, as she began to speak up. "Everyone, everypony!", she said. The two species kept arguing, yelling and shoving. Twilight watched as Celestia tried to quiet them down, when a familiar voice caught her attention. "Twilight!" Rarity and Applejack trotted over to Twilight. The human medic left, not wanting to be part of the conversation. "Thank Celestia you're alright.", Rarity said, before looking at the human soldiers. "What in tarnation are those fellas?", Applejack asked. "And their fashion sense is horrid!", Rarity said. "I can't imagine anypony wanting to wear green all the time! And those helmets!! No flash, no gold, no sense of beauty! Just GREEN!" A nearby soldier who wasn't arguing with anypony just glared at Rarity. "If I could, I'd shoot you.", he said, pointing his Grease Gun with one hand. "Ugh, the nerve!", Rarity scoffed, before she looked at Carousel Boutique, or what was left of it. "What happened?!", she screamed. "Everything's gone!!" "And our barn's wrecked too!", Applejack said. "Some giant boat flew in it!" "Thank Celestia I was out of town when this happened!", Rarity said. "I do hope Sweetie Belle's alright." "Twilight, do ya know what happened?", Applejack asked, making Twilight tense up. "I...I...", Twilight stuttered, beads of sweat forming under her horn. Twilight took a deep breath and shuddered as she let it out. "I...I may have accidentally created a portal that brought a war to Equestria?", Twilight asked. Rarity and Applejack blinked, before Rarity fainted. "Twilight, you did this?!", Applejack cried, whilst trying to shake Rarity awake. "I know, I know! I'm sorry, I didn't know what would happen! I wanted...I wanted to help use friendship to bring different worlds and species together, and instead...I...I pulled them apart.", Twilight said, as she turned to the crowds. The Americans and the ponies were all yelling at each other, while Celestia and the royal guards were attempting to keep the peace. Rarity slowly got up. "I-it was you?", Rarity groaned, as she stumbled to her hooves. "Relax, Rarity. Twi explained why. Ah'm still mad, but Ah forgive 'er.", Applejack said. Twilight just sighed sadly on the stretcher. The medic came back with another roll of bandages, as he began to dress the wound. That was when the two other mares noticed the bloody wound. "Twi, what in Tartarus happened?!", Applejack cried. "I-", Twilight said, before the medic talked. "She got stabbed by a Jap. Damn bastards. She'll be OK.", the medic said. "Don't do a lot of anything till the stab's healed, a'ight?" Twilight slowly nodded, and the medic left. "Sis!!" Rarity and Applejack turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders galloping towards them. Rarity started crying tears of joy when Sweetie Belle jumped into her arms. Applejack and Applebloom nuzzled, thankful for their safety, and Scootaloo went up to Twilight. "P-princess? Have you seen Rainbow Dash?", Scootaloo asked. Twilight slowly shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't see her. But I'm sure she's alright.", Twilight reassured. If she knew her loyal friend, she would've stayed in the sky. Luckily, during the attack, none of the Japanese noticed the clouds. "That giant metal wheeled thing ran over our clubhouse! It's still sitting on the tree!", Sweetie Belle said. "We're gonna kick this thing's flank when we get back!", Applebloom said. "No need." Edward walked up to the ponies. "That tank's wrecked. We killed the crew inside.", he said. The fillies looked up at the human. "What're you?", Sweetie Belle asked. "Ahem, who, are you.", Rarity corrected. "Lieutenant Edward Peers of the United States Army. Second Platoon, Seventh Infantry Division.", Edward said. The Crusaders blinked in confusion. "What?", Scootaloo asked. "It's adult stuff, you won't get it.", Edward said. He took his BAR and checked his clip. "I dunno what your princess has planned, but it can't be good." "When Princess Celestia has something planned, it's guaranteed to be beneficial to everypony.", Twilight said. "Uhh, Mr. Edward, have you really killed?", Sweetite Belle asked. "Sweetie Belle!", Rarity cried. "No...they've seen enough to know.", Edward said. He gave his BAR to Sweetie Belle, and she, Applebloom, and Scootaloo looked it over in interest. "This is a gun. More specifically, the Browning Automatic Rifle.", Edward said. "We actually made a joke about this gun." "What's the joke?", Sweetie Belle asked. "OK, so three Nazis walk into a BAR.", Edward said. The CMC stared in confusion at the soldier. "Get it? Browning Automatic Rifle? BAR?", Edward asked. "What're Nazis?", Scootaloo asked. "They're the enemies. Anyway, guns shoot bullets. Bullets kill anyone-er-anypony they hit.", Edward said. The CMC slowlyv nod their heads, beginning to understand the joke. "The BAR shoots bullets at three Nazis walking into their line of fire. And they die. That's where the joke ends.", Edward said. "That's morbid!", Rarity cried. "Yeah, tha's messed up!", Applejack said. "If you had joined the Army, you'd laugh too.", Edward said. "Ah got it. It was kinda funny to me.", Applebloom said. "Applebloom!", Applejack said. "What? Ah said it was kinda funny.", Applebloom said. Then a boom filled the air. "Son of a bitch, what now?", Edward said. "Hey!", Rarity cried at the profanity. "Who's a son of a bitch?", Sweetie Belle asked. Applejack and Twilight had to stifle giggles at how innocent it sounded, as Rarity began to scold her little sister. Edward took his BAR and turned to the hills. The grass was still ruined and flattened by the Jap tanks that rolled over it, and smoke was rising from the end of the hill. All the ponies and soldiers stopped arguing, and they turned to the hills. A couple snipers with their Winchesters aimed to the hills. Edward took a pair of binoculars and looked at where the smoke was. "What the...", he said.
Where'd You Come From?View OnlineThe Horrors Of WarWhere'd You Come From?Edward and the other soldiers ran to the town edge, aiming their weapons. Snipers were on the roofs, and the Browning was mounted on a Japanese tank wreck. A tank rolled up the hill, then another, until there were six tanks rolling towards the town. The ponies screamed and galloped away, leaving Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Celestia, the guards, and the CMC the only ponies in Ponyville. Edward's eyes widened. He set down his BAR and put his fingertips in his mouth. He let out a long whistle, before stopping. It was silent for a moment, before a long similar whistle replied back. Edward smiled. "Weapons down!", he yelled. Twilight's eyes widened as the Americans just let the tanks roll towards the town. But something seemed different about these tanks. These ones were green. "Hellcats and Greyhounds!", a soldier said. "Jeeps!", Edward said. Three M-18 Tank Destroyers, two M-4 Sherman tanks, two M-8 Greyhounds, three M-3 Halftracks, and four Willys MB jeeps were rolling towards the town of Ponyville. "Didn't expect the whole damned armored division.", a soldier said. "Nah...that's more than an armored division.", another trooper said. The vehicles rolled into town, blocking small paths, and filling the town square. "Nice to see another human face. Name's Jones.", the tank commander said. "You're a gunner. Where's your commander?", Edward asked. "We may sound crazy...but we found ourselves in some forest. Our commander looked outside, and a giant five headed monster snatched him out the hatch! We bolted right after he was swallowed.", Jones said. "I was next up the line, so...I'm in charge now, I guess." Edward gestured to the ponies behind him. "Think what you went through was crazy? We fought Japs with talking and flying ponies runnin' around." Jones snorted, as he spun the 1935 Browning Hi-Power in his hand. "Well, damn.", he said. "Sir, there's enough room in these vehicles for us to get outta here!", a soldier said. "Mighty fine, there!", Jones said. "Wanna get outta this hellhole?" "Well, we kinda agreed to help protect these ponies...", Edward said. "What? Why'd you do that, don't you wanna get home?", Jones asked. "Yeah, but I don't think we can get back...and we're alien here, so I'd rather be friends with these things rather than fight off the whole world.", Edward said. Jones scoffed. "Kinda ridiculous, but what the hell? I wouldn't wanna fight that much either.", he said. Then a pink pony with a pink mane and a pink tail zoomed up to Jones and Edward. "Friends? You wanna be friends?", she said in an energetic tone. Jones and Edward fell over in surprise. "What the hell?", Jones spluttered. "You know what this calls for? PARTY!!", the pink pony yelled, as she pulled out a blue cannon on wheels from her poofy mane. She fired a massive burst of confetti into the air, startling everyone. "Germans!!", a soldier yelled. All the vehicles started rolling, the soldiers running around in panic. Jones and Edward watched as a Hellcat and a Greyhound collided by accident, while the soldiers all started running around, yelling. A Sherman rolled over the pony's cannon by accident, and the loud "CRUNCH" made everything stop. The pink pony froze with a look of horror on her features. The Sherman rolled forward again, revealing a flattened pile of blue metal, with the Sherman's track prints on it. "Uh oh.", Twilight said. "Uhh, Pinkie? Just calm down, OK? Pinkie Pie?", Applejack said, cautiously approaching the pink pony. "Pinkie?", Jones muttered. Pinkie looked ready about to scream, but the moment everyone cringed away, she let out a breath. "Okie doki!", she said. "I have another one anyway." She pulled another cannon out of her mane. This one looked EXACTLY like the one the tank had accidentally run over. Everyone blinked, before scooting nervously away from the physics defying pony. "This is Pinkie Pie...", Twilight awkwardly introduced. The tank driver stepped out of the hatch. "Sorry about...that.", he said. "It's OK, William!", Pinkie chirped. The driver blinked. "How'd you know my name?", he asked. "Guessed.", Pinkie said, rather nonchalantly. William slowly lowered himself in the hatch again, before shutting the hatch door. "So, let's have a 'Celebrate Alien Arrival & Victory' PARTY!!", Pinkie Pie cried. Pinkie Pie zipped away and soon reappeared, setting massive tables of food and a giant dance floor, as well as party decorations on the tanks and cars. A giant music platform was set up, and hip hop music started playing. Unfortunately, hip hop music was not a thing in America at the time, so there was music playing all over the town, and the two hundred American soldiers were just standing there, awkwardly looking around. Pinkie Pie frowned. "Come on, dance! You don't have music like this in your world?", she asked. "No...this technically doesn't count as music.", Jones said. "Boss, look what I found!", a soldier said. He was dragging a grand piano out of a house. The piano was dusty with a couple splinters on it, but it was still in good shape. "Hey, you wanna play it?", Edward asked. "Yes, sir.", the soldier said. He sat down and tested the keys first, before he began to play the song, "Swinging On A Star". "Hey, the band's here, right?", Edward asked. Several soldiers walked up. "Yes, sir?", one asked. "Are there any orchestra instruments here?", Edward asked. "I think so.", Rarity said. A couple ponies left and came back with some orchestra instruments. They were a little small for humans, but they still worked. "Alright, who here can sing?", Edward asked. No one spoke up. "OK...I'm up.", Edward said. Pinkie Pie switched off the music, and the piano resumed playing. Soon, the soldiers that were in a band began to play. The lieutenant cleared his throat and began to sing. "Would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar And be better off than you are Or would you rather be a mule? A mule is an animal with long funny ears Kicks up at anything he hears His back is brawny but his brain is weak He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak And by the way, if you hate to go to school You may grow up to be a mule Or would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar And be better off than you are Or would you rather be a pig? A pig is an animal with dirt on his face His shoes are a terrible disgrace He has no manners when he eats his food He's fat and lazy and extremely rude But if you don't care a feather or a fig You may grow up to be a pig Or would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar And be better off than you are Or would you rather be a fish? A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook He can't write his name or read a book To fool the people is his only thought And though he's slippery, he still gets caught But then if that sort of life is what you wish You may grow up to be a fish A new kind of jumped-up slippery fish And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo Every day you meet quite a few So, you see it's all up to you You can be better than you are You could be swingin' on a star" The song ended, and everypony stared at the performing soldiers. The other soldiers started applauding and cheering at the song. Twilight slowly got up, wincing at the injury, before slowly walking to Edward. "That...that was a good song, but the thing is...", Twilight said, before pointing at two mules, one old female, and one slightly older male. The male was glaring at the soldiers, while the female was awkwardly standing. "Oh...no offense.", Edward added. "None taken. Let's go, dear.", the female mule said, before dragging her husband away. "Other than that, that was an amazing performance. Why'd you become a soldier rather than a performer?", Rarity asked. "Since the war started, we all had to join. We got drafted.", Edward explained. "And believe me, I was a singer back before the damn Japs attacked Pearl Harbor." "What's Pearl Harbor?", Rainbow Dash asked. She'd finally flown down after looking for other Pegasi. "I'll...explain later.", Edward said. "Wars are horrible. Why do we need to fight?", Twilight asked. "Because they do." Celestia looked up. "I've ruled Equestria for hundreds of years, and I learned that peace can never flourish without conflict.", she said. Edward nodded. "That's something a friend of mine said.", he said. Celestia frowned. "Your world seems to take that saying seriously.", she said. "When a dictator goes after you because the last war went badly for them, yeah.", Edward said. "How many wars have you had?", Celestia asked. "My history? My first one. But in history of the whole world, at least twenty.", Edward said. Everypony gasped in shock. "How're you still sane?", Rainbow Dash asked. "Probably because I was taken here before I could even fight.", Edward said. Twilight's ears lowered in shame. "I wanted to fight Germans, not those suicidal pricks.", a soldier said. Celestia stomped her hoof. "I don't want to hear anything about killing or harm in any way.", she said, sternly. Edward and the other soldiers looked up at the princess. "All due respect, killing and dying is what we do.", Edward said. "Not today. Not while you're here. You're going to live life, and spread friendship and love just like we all do.", Celestia said. The soldiers snickered and coughed at how cheesy that line was. Celestia sensed it too, and she blushed slightly, looking down and shuffling her hoof on the dirt. Then a soldier walked up, holding one of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes. Frosting was caked around his lips. "Lieutenant, you have to try these.", he said, a big grin on his face.
GoodbyeView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarGoodbyeIt was late at night, and most of the soldiers were sleeping in the vehicles or the tents outside. The other soldiers that were awake were patrolling the town or positioned on the roofs. Twilight couldn't sleep. She was standing on the balcony of the Castle Of Friendship, watching the town of Ponyville. The town was practically destroyed, most of the buildings wiped out in the battle against the Japanese. Princess Celestia had gone back to Canterlot, to organize a movement to help Ponyville recover. She gave her word that she'd be back with relief supplies and medical help soon. "I can't do this...", Twilight muttered. She snuck out of the castle, where a lot of the homeless Ponyville residents were sleeping, and trotted to town. Some soldiers shivered in the cold, some of them around fires. Edward shuddered as his last cigarette went out. He was about to fall asleep when the clip clops of hooves woke him up. Twilight was levitating a teapot and two cups, one of them a larger size. She poured some hot tea for Edward, before pouring a cup for herself. "So, cold night?", Twilight asked. Edward nodded, before sipping the tea in his hands. "Yeah...", Edward said. He smiled, before finishing the rest of the tea in the cup. "Thanks.", he said, giving the cup back to the lavender alicorn. "You don't have to sleep like this, you know. The houses must still have warm blankets or-", Twilight said. Edward pulled out his BAR and began to aim around with it. Twilight gulped nervously. "Well...I can make coffee, if you really n-need to stay awake.", she said. "Relax, I'm not going to shoot you.", Edward said. "Just making sure the gun doesn't jam." He gestured to a Hellcat, its main gun boring down on Twilight and Edward. "It's the tank you really need to worry about." Twilight gulped. "Anyway...I need to tell you something.", she said. Edward turned to Twilight, as she shuffled a hoof. She was about to tell him how he got here, but then she nervously glanced at the BAR on Edward's lap. "Y-your boat is in Sweet Apple Acres.", she blurted out. "Boat?", Edward asked. "Yeah. Y-your boat? The thing you all came in?", Twilight asked. Edward raised an eyebrow, before his eyes widened. "Our landing craft?", he asked. Twilight blinked. "That's what it's called?", she asked, while drinking from her teacup. "Yeah. See, we were going to attack the Germans and storm the beaches of Normandy. It was going to be the biggest attack operation in the history of the world.", Edward said. "We were gonna use the landing crafts to reach our destination." "But beaches are peaceful.", Twilight pointed out. "Wrong. The sand was covered in tank traps and barbed wire. There's a giant slope, with German defenses all over it. You'd freak if you saw it.", Edward said. "What was it like?", Twilight asked. Edward sighed. "It was terrifying." Flashback: Yesterday? Edward clutched onto his plastic wrapped BAR. A German 88 round struck the water next to the landing craft. Water splashed over everyone in the landing craft. "Contact!!", a soldier yelled. The two 30. Caliber gunners in the back hatches started firing. Everyone in the landing craft ducked. "Look out!!" Edward peeked out of the landing craft to the left, to see another craft explode in flames, killing everyone onboard. "Sir!! The artillery ain't lettin' up!", the driver yelled. "Don't falter! Full speed ahead!!", Edward barked. The driver nodded and pushed the throttle to the max. MG-42s started firing, and the bullets pinged and ricocheted off the front ramp. Everyone was tucked inside the landing craft, even the driver. No one saw the German 88 bunker aiming right at them. The German soldier in the bunker was about to fire, when a flash of white light caught his attention. "Mein gott.", he muttered. The gunners in the landing craft stopped firing. "Stop!! Stop the boat!!!", a gunner yelled. Edward was about to turn around and yell at the gunner's cowardice, when he was completely blinded by a white light. Flashback end. Twilight's eyes were wide in horror. "You were just gonna run into death?", she asked. "Hey, we had over 150,000 guys. We'll win. Or, they will...", Edward said. "You're just throwing soldiers into...into that fortress?", Twilight muttered in disbelief. "Hey, a lieutenant once said, 'No sacrifice too great'. Every one soldier who dies will help save a hundred more.", Edward said. Twilight was about to retort, when she realized he was right. Guards in Equestria give up their lives for innocents every day. "It's not right." Edward turned to Twilight. Twilight sniffled. A tear rolled down her face. "It's not right. Why should ponies or...humans like you die? You have families too, right?", she asked. Edward slowly nodded. "Then why are you being sent to die? It's a war! What about back home?", Twilight asked. "Would you rather the enemy attack everyone back home?", Edward asked. Twilight went silent again. Every option in a war, all of them involved hundreds dying. "It's still wrong.", she said. Edward gave a deadpan stare, before sighing. "To be honest, I'm scared of dying too. But I'm even more scared for the millions back home. I would never forgive myself if the enemy attacked my country and hurt my family. That gives me purpose.", he said. Twilight sniffled again. "Can I stay here?", she asked. Edward groaned internally. "Fine, just don't jam my BAR with your tears.", he said. Twilight curled next to Edward, before lightly snoring. Even though she never got to say what she needed to say, Edward's words gave her some closure about war. Edward rolled his eyes, before he draped his military blanket over him, and drifting off. "Friendship...what a joke.", Edward muttered. The next morning, Twilight woke up to the sound of several footsteps and the rumbling of engines. She opened her eyes, to see the vehicles leaving Ponyville, with the soldiers walking alongside the armored convoy. The jeeps were towing the two landing crafts, which they somehow removed from the buildings. She gasped as she saw Edward sitting in the back of one of the Shermans, with a squad of troops with him. They were all talking and smoking. She spread her wings and flew to the top of the Sherman. She landed on the hatch, next to the mounted 50. Caliber. "Where're you going?", Twilight asked. "Anywhere. We kept the peace, so we're gonna go find our way home.", Edward said. "Do...do you have to leave?", Twilight asked in a pleading voice. Some soldiers laughed. "She's got the hots for you.", a soldier said. Edward sighed, while Twilight blushed. "I-I don't!", Twilight spluttered. "Just shut up...you're making it worse.", Edward groaned. "Anyway, yeah. We're leaving. Don't want to bring another species into this godforsaken war.", a soldier said, taking a puff on his cigarette. "But...we didn't get to teach you about friendship!", Twilight protested over the rumble of the Sherman. Jones opened the hatch, as Twilight stepped aside. Jones propped himself up and sat on the tank turret, next to Twilight. "Listen, horse. The 'Magic Of Friendship' ain't gonna help solve this war. Not now, not ever.", Jones said. "True that.", Edward said. "Come on, your town is really far. You should go back." Twilight turned to see Ponyville barely visible above the hill. Twilight sighed and nodded. "OK, just don't die.", she said. "No promises there.", Edward said, and the squad laughed, as Twilight flew back to Ponyville. Twilight landed on the ground, where her friends were sitting. "No luck...", she said. "Ah know this sounds bad, but Ah'm glad they're gone.", Applejack said. "Applejack, how can you say that? They saved Ponyville, at the cost of their own!", Twilight said. "Hey, I don't mean to change the subject, but has anypony seen Fluttershy?", Rainbow Dash asked. "Yeah, we haven't seen her at all.", Pinkie Pie said. "Let's go to her cottage. Maybe she stayed there.", Rarity said. The five ponies walked to Fluttershy's cottage, which luckily was uphill, so the water didn't hit her house. At Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight noticed something next to her house. It was a giant mass of vines and bush leaves on the side, as if a monster were growing there. She decided not to mention that. Applejack knocked on the door and waited. The door was opened by Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel. "Oh, hi. Is Fluttershy here?", Twilight asked. Angel simply pointed in the living room. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity walked inside, looking at all the animals in the room. "Fluttershy? Are you here?", Twilight called. Soon, a yellow Pegasus with a long pink mane and tail walked in the living room. "Oh. Hello, Twilight.", Fluttershy said, in her signature timid and quiet voice. Twilight and her friends all came up and hugged Fluttershy tightly, surprising her a little bit. "What brings you by?", Fluttershy asked. "We wanted to check on you. There was an attack on Ponyville, and we were worried.", Rainbow Dash said. "Well, I wasn't worried. I always knew you'd be able to look after yourself." "An attack? Oh no, I hope everypony's alright.", Fluttershy gasped. "Don't worry...we're recovering. Princess Celestia gave her word.", Rarity said, deciding to leave out the pony casualties and who attacker Ponyville. "Thank Celestia you're alright.", Applejack said. "Oh, of course I'm alright. I had to take care of my animals. Oh, not to mention my two visitors.", Fluttershy said, Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You have visitors?", she asked. "Oh yes. They come from a different country, and they are so nice. One of them loves animals, has a couple pets back at his home. Here, let me introduce you to them.", Fluttershy said, excitedly, yet still quietly. She brought her friends to another room, and they all saw who Fluttershy was talking about. Two men in camouflage uniforms were sitting at a table, holding small mugs. They had guns that looked like the M-1 Garand the American soldiers earlier had. The younger man wore a different helmet that looked a bit like upside down coal scuttling container, while the older looking man wore an officer's cap. The two of them turned to the ponies, smiles on their faces. "Guten tag.", the younger man said, in a thick accent.
GermansView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarGermansTwilight blinked, before awkwardly smiling. "Uhh...guten tag?", she asked. "Ah! Du sprichst auch Deutsch? Schön jemanden in der Nähe zu Hause zu sehen.", the man said. Twilight began to sweat nervously. The other man chuckled and smiled. "Sie sprechen Englisch, Kind.", he said. The younger man pouted slightly. "Fine...", he said. The older man put down his mug and stood up. His helmet was about a couple inches from touching the ceiling. "I'm Scharführer Dieter Weber. This is my second in command, Otto Schneider.", the older man said, in a similar accent to the younger man. "Hello.", Otto said. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Schneider and Mr. Weber.", Twilight awkwardly said, before turning to Fluttershy. "Uhh, Fluttershy? I'm not sure if you noticed, but there's a giant bush growing outside your house.", Twilight said. "Oh, really?", Fluttershy asked. "That's our Kübelwagen.", Dieter said. "Our means of transportation." "Which is out of fuel, I may add.", Otto said, sourly. Rainbow Dash snickered. "You ride in a bush?", she asked. "And ya call it a Kübelwagen?", Applejack asked, smirking. Otto smiled, as he walked out of the room, out the front door, and to the bush. He pulled on the bush, and almost immediately, the leaves and twigs came off. A large vehicle, that looked similar to the American jeep, stood in place of where the "bush" was just sitting. It was bulkier, like a tub in the back, and it was tan, as well as heavily armored. A light gun emplacement was attached to a little pole in the back. "Whoa...", Rainbow Dash said. "How fast?" Dieter chuckled. "About fifty miles per hour, give or take.", he said. "I can totally fly faster!", Rainbow Dash boasted, flashing her wings. Dieter laughed loudly, before calming down. "Our planes can fly faster than our jeeps can drive.", he said, just as Otto walked back in. "How fast can you fly, mein freund?", Otto asked. "When not trying to do the Rainboom, which I will explain later, she goes four hundred miles an hour.", Twilight said. "You measure my flying?", Rainbow Dash asked in a tone that was both confused and freaked out. "Yeah, when we did that tornado operation, remember?", Twilight asked. Pinkie Pie jumped up. "To find out more on that episode, watch Hurricane Fluttershy!", she said, before standing normally. Fluttershy blinked, before blushing, remembering the moments of that flashback in her life. "Yes, our newest planes can achieve speeds up to six hundred miles an hour. At least, our prototype can.", Otto said. "Ah, yes. The 262.", Dieter said. "The Messerschmitt." "Faster than me?", Rainbow Dash asked. "No way. I wanna race!", Rainbow Dash demanded. "You'd lose.", Dieter said. "Best stay out of a race you can't win." "Besides, if a 262 pilot saw you, he'd shoot you down right away.", Otto said, before mimicking an explosion with his hands. That alone was enough to scare Rainbow Dash. "Yeah...on second thought, maybe not.", Rainbow Dash said. "I wonder how those Allied planes versus you flying ponies would go.", Dieter said. Rainbow Dash gulped, imagining having to fight off terrifying flying war machines. "I don't wanna know.", Rainbow Dash admitted. Twilight smiled. "At least you decided to stay. The other humans decided to leave." Dieter frowned. "Other humans?" "Yeah, they wore green, and they had different helmets.", Rarity said. "Their fashion sense is horrible! Your coats are at least decent." Dieter raised an eyebrow, before his hand went behind his back, clutching the Gewehr slung over his back. "Interesting.", he said. Twilight got very uncomfortable with his change of tone, so she decided to quickly change the subject. "So, would you like to tour our town? We were attacked, so I apologize if there's a lot going on." Dieter nodded to Otto, who nodded back. "Yes, we would like that. Thank you.", Dieter said to Twilight, the German officer grinning slightly. "Wonderful! This way, please.", Twilight said. The six ponies left Fluttershy's cottage, escorting the two Germans to Ponyville. The two looked around the town, the wrecked buildings and occasional blood stains on the ground. But what caught their eye the most were the Japanese jeep and tank wrecks scattering the town. "What happened, exactly?", Dieter asked. Otto held his Gewehr as he peeked into houses and other buildings. "Oh, these humans, they call themselves Americans, they came in and protected Ponyville from the Japanese. They killed so many, but they kept us ponies alive.", Twilight said. She noticed how Dieter's expression became unrecognizable once she mentioned the word "American". "I see.", Dieter said. Twilight shuddered from the cold tone in his voice. Otto walked up. "I found this.", he said. He was holding an old Grease Gun and a bloody American helmet. A single bullet hole resided in its hull. "Can you get on the radio back in the Kübelwagen?", Dieter asked. Otto nodded and hurried back to the cottage. "What's going on?", Pinkie Pie asked. "Nothing important.", Dieter said. Otto jumped in the Kübelwagen, before pulling a radio out from under one of the seats. "Panzerdivision Donner, hast du gelesen?", Otto barked. The radio crackled, before another voice in the same accent replied back. "Donner, wir lesen.", the voice said. "Wir haben ein amerikanisch kontrolliertes Dorf. Bring deine Tiger mit.", Otto said. "Was ist der Name dieser Stadt?", the voice asked. "Ponyville.", Otto said. The voice laughed over the radio, before he coughed. "Ja, wir sind gerade unterwegs.", he said. "Kopieren.", Otto said, before hanging up the radio. Deep in the Everfree Forest, an hour later Zecora trotted to her little hut, carrying a bag of potions, when a rumbling sound caught her attention. She turned to see a couple trees in the forest tumble and crash. "What's this I hear? What monstrosity can be near?", Zecora asked, as she backed nervously to her hut. A massive tank, with sloped armor and a giant cannon rolled up to Zecora's hut. It had a camouflage color scheme, and its humongous treads sank a little in the mud. Right next to it was another Kübelwagen, with an MG-42 mounted on it. An officer, a driver, and a gunner were in the jeep. About three other tanks were right behind the lead tank in a line. They were blocky and less sleek, but they still looked rather intimidating. "Entschuldigen Sie mich! Wo ist Ponyville?!", the officer in the Kübelwagen yelled, over the rumble of giant engines. All Zecora heard was "Ponyville", so she pointed towards Ponyville with a shaking hoof. "Danke!", the officer said, before nodding to the driver. The Kübelwagen, and the four heavy tanks rolled away, leaving a path of destruction behind. Zecora quickly ran into her hut and slammed the door, leaving her bag of potions on the ground. The King Tiger and its three Tiger subordinates rolled with the Kübelwagen, approaching Ponyville. The King Tiger rolled into the town first, ponies screaming and galloping away. Twilight turned and saw the King Tiger, bigger than the American Sherman she'd seen earlier. Her eyes widened as she turned to look at Dieter. "What're you doing?", Twilight asked. "There are Americans here. We're securing this town, keeping it safe.", Dieter said, as he waved a hand. The other Kübelwagen rolled up, and the officer waved. "Until they come back, right?", Pinkie Pie asked, excitedly. "You and the Americans are friends, right?" Dieter grew a confused look, until he grinned. "Sure, let us go with that.", he said. Besides, if the Americans did come back, the town would no longer be safe. Dieter and the other officer began to talk, as the ponies walked to Ponyville's outskirts. Rainbow Dash flew away, needing some fresh air. "I can't wait for Edward to come back. They're gonna freak over these guys!", Pinkie Pie said, excitedly. "Yeah, I can't wait to introduce friendship to them.", Twilight said. Rainbow Dash flew back, extremely giddy. "Twilight! They're here! The Americans! They're back!!", she cried excitedly. Otto heard this. "Where?", he asked. "Where are the Americans?" Rainbow Dash squealed as she pointed to the hill. Sure enough, an M-8 Greyhound was heading up the hill, towards Ponyville. "Americans!", Otto yelled. Suddenly, the four Tigers rolled up to the edge of town, before aiming their giant cannons to the incoming Greyhound. "Ooh, an official welcoming committee!", Pinkie squealed. "I can't wait!" "Fire!!", the officer on the King Tiger yelled. Pinkie smiled, expecting the party horn and the blast of confetti, but instead she was hit with the massive sound of cannon fire. Several explosions nearly hit the Greyhound, causing it to swerve. The 37 mm gun fired, a shot pinging off a Tiger. "What're ya doing?!", Applejack cried, as the Tigers fired again. Suddenly, several American jeeps and tanks, as well as hundreds of American troops charged down the hill, firing and screaming. A bullet struck the ground near Fluttershy, and she squeaked, before galloping away. The other ponies ran off, as the Tigers advanced on the charging Americans. "Oh no!", Twilight cried. "They're enemies!!" Rainbow Dash slapped the back of Twilight's head. "Thank you, Princess Obvious!", she said. A Tiger fired at a Sherman, immediately blowing it up. Two Hellcats fired at the King Tiger, both shells deflecting off the tank's sloped armor. The tanks were all moving around, with the jeeps zipping around. The German jeeps and the American jeeps were having a dogfight, driving around, the mounted machine guns blazing. "We need to get out of here!", Rarity said. "How? We're boxed in!", Rainbow Dash cried. There was a whistling sound, before an explosion sent all the ponies flying. Twilight's eyesight was completely black, and her ears were ringing loudly. She could hear a distinct buzzing sound, and a couple yells, but they were all muffled. "Twilight!!" Twilight rubbed furiously at her eyes, before looking around. She was seeing double of everything, as everything slowly moved away from her. She looked down, before she realized she was being dragged away from Ponyville. She turned around, and saw a very familiar American dragging her away. "You miss me, Princess?"
Truce?View OnlineThe Horrors Of WarTruce?In the Dragon Lands, Dragonlord Ember stood with Spike on a cliff overlooking the Lands. "So, there's aliens in Ponyville?", Ember asked. "Yeah. I mean, well, they aren't really aliens to us, since we've seen them before. Well...I was a dog at the time, and-", Spike said. "Spike, what do you need me for?", Ember asked. "Right! I came to ask you and some dragons to come over help protect Ponyville. I...I hope it's not too much to ask.", Spike said, a hint of shame in his voice. "What happened, anyway?", Ember asked. Flashback Spike ran to Ponyville, as Twilight stayed behind to keep the portal steady. The first Element he saw was Applejack, bucking trees in Sweet Apple Acres. "Hey, Applejack!", Spike said. The honest mare smiled as she took off her Stetson to wipe her face. "Heya, Spike. Whatcha doin' here?", Applejack asked. "Twilight asked me to bring all the Elements of Harmony over up the hill. She's got something to-", Spike said, before a rumble caught his attention. Spike and Applejack turned to see a massive wave of water flowing down the hill, heading towards Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres. "What in tarnation?!", Applejack cried. They didn't have time to run, since the wave of water gave them no time to even blink. Spike was thrown around in the water, gasping for breath and flailing helplessly. He grabbed the nearest thing he saw, which unfortunately for him, was a giant boat. The boat almost immediately capsized, and Spike frantically climbed up top. He was coughing and gasping for breath, when a wave sent the upside down boat flying. "AAAHHHHHH!!!", Spike screamed, as the boat he was holding on to flung into the Sweet Apple Acres's bar. The massive boat smashed into the roof, the momentum catapulting Spike away from Ponyville at an incredible speed. Flashback end. "And I landed halfway to the Dragon Lands, so I spent all day trying to get here.", Spike said, before drooping sadly. "I just hope I didn't have to hike here for nothing." Ember smiled, as she put a blue clawed hand on Spike's little soldier. "Don't worry. I'll always help a friend.", she said. "Really?", Spike asked. "Yeah, it'll get us dragons some popularity points with the ponies. 'Dragonlord unites dragons and ponies together'.", Ember said, as if they were newspaper headlines...if there were newspapers in the Dragon Lands. "Not too shabby, I'd say." Spike smiled. "Thanks, Ember.", he said. "And besides, this is a way for you to meet my new friends.", Ember said. She walked into a cave, with Spike following her in. Before they could reach the interior, a familiar red dragon stopped them. "Well, if it isn't the pony dragon?", the red dragon spat. "Hello, Garble.", Spike said in a deadpan tone. "We've got other things to do, so move, please.", Ember said. "Please? Dragons don't say please!", Garble snorted, not budging an inch. "Really? You just said it twice.", Spike said, smugly. Garble growled in annoyance. "You know what I mean!", he said. "Move it, Gagface Garble.", Ember said. Garble turned to Ember, a glare on his features. "What did you just call me?", he said. "You heard her. Move.", Spike said. Garble clenched his fist. "You'll regret that!", he said. He was about to throw a punch at Spike, before something wooden smacked into the back of his head. Garble fell to the ground, before looking up, rubbing the back of his head. A human wearing a dark gray coat and black gloves stood over the red dragon. He was holding a Mosin-Nagant M1938. He wore a dark green helmet, and his face was covered in soot. Behind him were several other men wearing the same fatigues as him. Ember smiled. "Meet my friends, the Soviet Union. Or that's what they call themselves.", she said. "Zdravstvuyte.", the man said, smiling. Back in Ponyville Edward pulled Twilight behind a building, as gunfire ripped through one of the American soldiers. "How the hell did Germans get here?!", Edward yelled, as he fired off a five round burst with his BAR. He turned to Twilight, a frantic look on his face. "Why didn't you run?! The Germans would've killed you if we hadn't intercepted their transmission!", he said. "We didn't know! They were so nice, and, they...", Twilight said, before she thought back to Dieter's strange behavior earlier. "So that's why his mood changed. They were looking for Americans!", Twilight thought. "You welcomed the GERMANS?! Dammit!", Edward yelled, as he grabbed Twilight and ran to the next building, just as a Tiger plowed through the wall they were just hiding behind. A Sherman fired a round that blew off one of the Tiger's treads, as a Greyhound fired its gun at a German jeep. "I'm gonna kill these bastards!", Edward said, as he jumped up from cover. "No! Don't kill them!", Twilight cried over the sound of a nearby jeep mounted MG-42. "Why? Why should I spare my enemy?", Edward growled, as he aimed at a German soldier, who Twilight recognized as Otto. "Because they're just like you!", Twilight yelled. Edward froze, before Otto tackled Edward to the ground. "Die!!", Otto yelled, trying to impale the bayonet on his Gewehr into Edward's throat. Edward was clutching the blade with his hands, pushing it away from his neck with all his might. "You first, Jerry!", Edward yelled. The bayonet was getting closer to his throat. Edward was about to give in, when a purple aura encased both him and Otto. Soon, the two were floating in the air, the BAR and the Gewehr on the ground. "Stop fighting!!", Twilight yelled. "You're going to be friends, whether you like it or not!!" She set the American and the German on the ground, and they sat in silence, before they grabbed at each other and started fighting again. Twilight used her magic to force them apart, and soon, the soldiers were clawing at each other like an American bully going against a German Rottweiler. Twilight shook them violently, before setting them down. The two soldiers stumbled around, before falling flat. "Do you want to talk to each other? Or should I do that again?", Twilight asked. Otto and Edward glared at each other, before turning to the battle. "I'd rather fight again.", Edward said. "Me too.", Otto said. Twilight smiled. "See? You found some common ground! Build on that.", she said. Edward and Otto just glared at Twilight. Twilight, sensing some hostility towards her, used her magic to pull the BAR and the Gewehr away. "OK... I'm just going to put these away.", Twilight said, as she threw the weapons through an open window. Then a loud explosion jolted everyone and everypony. Everyone had stopped fighting, to see Princess Celestia on the ground, glaring at every soldier and tank. "Uh oh.", Edward said. "So, where do we start?", Twilight asked, awkwardly. Celestia glared down everyone, who was just standing still. "This is enough! I will not have another battle in Equestria!", she yelled in the Canterlot Royal Voice. Unbeknownst to her, the King Tiger's main gun began to slowly turn on her. She didn't notice its main gun aiming down the back of her head. Somewhere else Ember, Spike, a couple dragons, and a Soviet army were walking towards Ponyville, the long way. There were at least two thousand men, and a hundred BT-7 and T-34 tanks with the few dragons, and it was a very awkward, and uncomfortable walk. "How much longer?", a Russian asked. "Not too long. A half hour at most.", Spike said. "I hope so.", Ember said. "Ponyville should still be standing, right?", Ember asked. "Yeah, I mean, it's not like a battle took place.", Spike said. Suddenly, a boom silenced everyone. Smoke began to rise from Ponyville's direction, and Spike gasped. "Uh oh.", Ember said. The other dragons were silent. "V zaklyucheniye! Prikhodite, tovarishchi! U nas yest' bor'ba, chtoby pobedit'!!", a Russian soldier yelled, as he held up his PPSH-41. The Russians roared, as they charged towards Ponyville. The tanks rolled past, and soon, the dragons were left in a cloud of dust. "Oh no! They're going to attack Ponyville!", Spike cried. "Come on!", Ember yelled, as she, the other dragons, and Spike chased after the battle hungry soldiers.
ShadowsView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarShadowsCelestia turned around to see the King Tiger aiming right at her. She ducked at the last second, and the tank fired. The super tank’s round ripped right through the princess’s mane, tufts of hair floating around her, before the round ripped into a house. The house was full of gunpowder for fireworks on the holidays. The whole house exploded, the sheer force sending everyone and everypony flying. Even the vehicles shook and tipped. Smoke billowed up and blocked out Celestia’s sun. The only sound was the crackling of fire and the rumbles of the tanks and cars. Edward groaned as he got up. He secured his helmet and looked around. He saw Otto sitting over with a groaning Twilight. “Ow...”, she groaned. She rubbed her head with her hoof, and flexed her wings. She saw the Americans getting up, some of them helping up her friends. Two Americans were helping Celestia to her hooves. “Hey, are you good?”, Otto asked. Twilight slowly nodded. “Thank you.”, she said. She turned to see Edward aiming a pistol at Otto’s back. "Hey!", Twilight cried. She used her magic to grab the gun, and fling it away. Then she used her magic to sit the American and the German down, keeping them there. "No fighting! You're going to sit down, shut up, and Celestia help me, you're going to TALK THINGS THROUGH AND START ACTING LIKE FULLY GROWN STALLIONS!!!", Twilight yelled. Everyone stared at Twilight. Even Celestia was surprised by her ex-student’s sudden outburst. Twilight Sparkle sighed, and rubbed her head with her hoof. “This is a land of friendship and harmony, so you’d better not screw ut up.”, she said, much more calm now. Edward sighed, before looking to Otto. “Just so you know, I don’t like this.”, he said. “Neither do I.”, Otto said. The Germans and Americans were separated, and the vehicles and weapons were piled behind a damaged building, Celestia’s royal guards watching over them. “So...Heil Hitler?”, Edward asked. “Shut up.”, Dieter said, fiddling with his officer’s cap. Twilight watched the humans “converse” and “talk peacefully”, and smiled. “We might be getting through to them. This might be over.”, Twilight said. Rainbow Dash looked nervously, at an American soldier and a German tank driver, glaring daggers at each other. “I don’t think so.”, Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie smiled. "Maybe we should give them cupcakes.", she said. "Or apples.", Applejack said. "Yeah, you do that, while I start some good conversation starters.", Rainbow Dash said. "Dear, where's Fluttershy?", Rarity asked. "Ooh! I think I see her!", Pinkie Pie said, pointing at the crowd of grounded humans. Fluttershy was talking to a soldier, patting his leg with a hoof. "You look rather tense. Wanna talk about it? Talking is a very healthy way to relieve stress.", she said, kindly. "The only tension I have is with these Germans. I just want my M-1.", the soldier said. "Or maybe you want a bunny to cuddle with.", Fluttershy said, bringing out Angel, who just stared curiously up at the American. "What?", was all the soldier could say. "Looks like she's getting through to them too.", Twilight said. Pinkie Pie came in with a giant tray of cupcakes, before zipping around all the humans in a pink blur. In a split second, every soldier, gunner, and driver had a cupcake in their hand. Pinkie Pie came back with an empty tray, saluting with a hoof at Twilight. "All done!", she said. "Good. This is going well.", Twilight said, as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash came back. "Where's Applejack?", Fluttershy asked. "She's passing out apple pies from a stand in Ponyville.", Twilight said. "Yes, it hadn't been destroyed and is still fully stocked.", Rarity said. "How are things going on your end?" "Angel's comforting is helping very much.", the yellow timid Pegasus said, as the soldier sat on the ground with a deadpan look. Angel sat on his helmeted head, a deadpan look on his face too. "Yes, I totally see that.", Twilight said. Then all the mares all heard galloping hoofsteps. Twilight and the other ponies turned to see the CMC galloping towards them. “Sweetie Belle! What happened?!”, Rarity asked, as her panting little sister stopped to catch her breath. “Thousands of monsters! They’re all running this way! We’re all gonna die!”, the little filly unicorn cried. Everyone looked up, and Twilight quickly spoke up. “It’s nothing! Go back to talking!”, she yelled. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were silent. “We ain’t lyin’! There’s really an attack!”, Applebloom cried. "Don't you belive us?!", Scootaloo blurted out. “I believe you, but if we tell them all there’s an attack, they’ll start another battle.”, Twilight said. "Look at Ponyville, it's on the verge of destruction!" “We have to go over and stop the attack before it starts.”, Rainbow Dash said. “Come on!”, Twilight cried, before she and the other Elements of Harmony galloped to where the three fillies came from. They reached Sweet Apple Acres, and looked around. "I don't see anything.", Pinkie Pie said. "No...but I hear something.", Twilight said. She quickly shushed the others, and they all listened. A rumbling filled the air, and something came over the hill. "Quick!", Twilight said. She and her friends quickly hid behind a tree. An army of Russians were slowly trudging their way to Ponyville, Spike, Ember, and the couple dragons walking in front of them. "Didn't think they'd get tired that easily.", Ember said. "Yeah...running for a half hour straight up a mountain will do that.", Spike said. Ember giggled. "It was funny to see them all roll down the mountain.", she said. "Yeah.", Spike chuckled. "Spike!!" Spike looked up, to see Twilight galloping towards him. "Twilight!", Ember and Spike said. A Russian aimed his PPSH-41 at Twilight, which made her halt almost immediately. Spike turned to the Soviet soldier. "What's wrong?", he asked. "Ty znayesh' yeye?", the soldier asked. "What?", Ember asked. "Ty znayesh' yeye?", the soldier repeated. Twilight was confused, until she remembered something. Her horn glowed, while the soldier was still turned to Spike and Ember. She fired a burst of magic that struck the Soviet in the chest, making him stumble. The other soldiers and tanks quickly readied their weapons, as the soldier recovered. "Chto eto bylo?!", the soldier cried. Twilight smiled. "Eto bylo perevodnoye zaklinaniye, poetomu ya mogu ponyat', chto vy govorite.", she said, in perfect fluent Russian. The soldier blinked, before he lowered his submachine gun. "Ochen' khorosho.", he said. "YA khochu pomoch' vam vernut'sya v svoy mir, poetomu mne nuzhno, chtoby vy rasskazali mne, chto proizoshlo.", Twilight said. The soldier nodded, and motioned for the others to lower their weapons. "Twilight?", Spike asked. "Don't worry, I can talk with them now.", Twilight reassured, as she turned back to the soldier. "Kak vy syuda popali?", she asked. The soldier thought about this, before telling his answer. "Nu, byla vspyshka sveta i kakoy-to chernyy kon'. On nazyval sebya Poni Teney?" Twilight gasped. She looked around, before trotting over to Spike. "What's the matter?", Spike asked. "The Pony Of Shadows is behind this!", Twilight whispered. Spike gasped. "What?", he said. Suddenly, a loud rumble filled the air. The Russians looked around, before an explosion in the middle of their ranks sent them all flying. Twilight hit the ground, as the Russian with the PPSH-41 got up quickly. "Chto za-", he said, before he saw what caused the explosion. A massive pony with black wisps of shadows was standing. It had a giant horn, and large wings. Its tail and mane moved as if there were a wind blowing on it, and its eyes were pure white. "I'm back!", the shadowed monstrosity cackled. "OGON'!!", the Russian yelled, before firing his weapon at the Pony Of Shadows. Soon, thousands of rifles, machine guns, flamethrowers, and tank cannons were emptying themselves into the monster, while slowly backing away. "Back to Ponyville! Now!", Twilight cried. She fired a continuous burst of magic at the shadows, with Ember, her dragon escorts, and Spike breathing their own fire at the monstrous pony. The Russian tanks fired, as the soldiers retreated up the hill, past Sweet Apple Acres. "Otstupat'!! Otstupat'!!", a Russian yelled, as the horde of Russians ran up the hill. In Ponyville, the gunfire from earlier had caught everyone's attention, and all of Ponyville, and the humans in it, was looking up the hill near the destroyed barn of Sweet Apple Acres. "What in Equestria?", Applejack muttered. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Spike, Ember, the other dragons, and hundreds of Soviet soldiers started running up the hill, a lot of them turning around to shoot at something behind them, before running again. "Die Sowjets!!", a German cried. Suddenly, they all saw a giant black horse with black clouds orbiting it, following the retreating soldiers, tanks on either side firing at the monstrosity. "The Pony Of Shadows! But it's been banished!", Celestia cried. "Go, go, go!", Edward yelled. He ran to the building Twilight threw his BAR at, jumped inside, and grabbed his automatic rifle. All the human soldiers grabbed their weapons and charged towards the monster of shadows, as the ponies of Ponyville all galloped away from the nearing battle. The Russian tanks were bombarding the monster with armor piercing rounds. They weren't really hurting the Pony Of Shadows, but it was effectively keeping him down. There was a Russian antitank artillery gun pounding the pony as well. "Fire!", Edward yelled. Hundreds of rifles and submachine guns opened fire, completely surrounding the Pony of Shadows. The BT-7s, T-34s, Tigers, King Tigers, Shermans, Greyhounds, and Hellcats were all firing at the pony too. Celestia and the royal guards flew in to assist, as well as Twilight and the other dragons. "Ha ha...hahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!", the Pony Of Shadows cackled, as he sent out a giant wave of shadows that sent everyone flying to Sweet Apple Acres. The ponies and humans all landed on the farmland of Sweet Apple Acres, scattering dirt, crops, and water. The vehicles had rolled back at least a couple meters, damaging and immobilizing them. The antitank gun fell apart, the hot firing mechanism smoking. Edward looked up and surveyed the damage. Over two thousand humans and ponies scattered all over the fields. The tanks were stuck, and with the engineer squads stuck with the infantry, the vehicles were out of comission. The soldiers got up, to see the Pony Of Shadows gone, but a plume of shadows on the far side of the hill. The Russians had gotten up first, and saw that there was an army of miniature versions of the shadowed pony. Each one had a glowing black aura, and they growled at the humans. "What do we do?", Twilight asked Celestia. The sun princess could only look at the incoming army. "I don't know. The shadows have never had this much power before. It somehow learned to manipulate spells and enhance their abilities.", Celestia said. A Russian officer walked up to the two alicorns, and smiled. "Ne volnuysya. My zdes', chtoby srazhat'sya i zashchishchat'sya. Ostav'te ikh nam, da?", he asked. Twilight gulped nervously. She was about to protest, but the Russian looked away. "ZARYAD!!", the officer roared, as the remaining soldiers got up and roared, as they all charged at the army of shadow ponies. "What did he say?", Celestia asked. Twilight looked at Celestia with fear. "They...they're gonna charge. They'll die.", she said.
VictoryView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarVictoryThe army of shadow ponies stomped forward, growling as they approached Ponyville. The plume of shadows behind them were spawning more shadows endlessly. The army of rage-fueled Soviets charged recklessly at the enemy, firing their rifles as they charged. The rifle fire took out some ponies, but for every disintegrating pony that fell, ten more stepped over. The immobilized tanks fired their cannons, wiping out row after row of shadows. As the smoke cleared, more shadow ponies stepped out. "They're crazy!", Rainbow Dash cried, as she flew up in the air. "They can't deal with that many enemies!" "We have to help them! Celestia, I'm going to-", Twilight said, before Celestia held out a wing, stopping her. "No, I won't risk any more of my ponies' lives.", Celestia said. Twilight could only watch as the two thousand man army ran to their end. "But...they'll die.", Twilight said. "We can help!" Ember and the other dragons stood up. "We can take on those shadows. We're not standing by while these things take over our lands! Come on, Spike!", she said. Spike stood up, but Twilight quickly grabbed him with her magic. "Spike, don't!", she cried. "Twilight, let me go!", Spike said, trying to get free. "Spike, you're not going to fight!", Twilight said, as she pulled Spike back. Spike watched as Ember and the other dragons flew away. "Twilight, that was my moment!", Spike cried. "No, you're not going to die!", Twilight said, keeping her magical hold on Spike. "Twilight! Let me go!", Spike yelled, as he tried to run towards the battle. "Spike!", Twilight growled. "Twilight, please!", Spike cried. "SPIKE!!", Twilight yelled. "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE AND THAT'S FINAL!! NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!" Edward stared at Twilight, who was glaring down at the frightened baby dragon. "Whoa.", a soldier said. Twilight's glare turned into one of horror as she processed what she'd done. Her magic grip on Spike lessened, and he broke free, before running back to Ponyville. Edward and another soldier got up and hurried after the drake, as Twilight slumped down. "What...", she muttered. But she was interrupted by a yell. "GRANATY!!" Every single charging Russian pulled out F1 hand grenades, before chucking them at the enemy. Giant explosions rippled the ground, and hundreds of shadow ponies flew into the air. Smoke and dust billowed all over the field. As more shadow ponies stepped out of the shadows, the Russians had reached the army and were now stabbing and swinging their guns at the shadow ponies. Everyone and everypony in the back watched in amazement as the Soviets took on the enemy clones, outnumbered. Screams and roars filled the air. Some grenades went off in the middle of the battle, taking out more enemies. "We need to back them up!", an American soldier said. "Let's move!!", another soldier said. The Americans and Germans got up and started running to the battle. The Germans went to repairing their Tigers, as the Americans charged to help the Soviets. Ember kicked a shadow pony, before jumping up. Another dragon fired a burst of flame at the shadow ponies, incinerating them. Ember was tackled by a pony, before a burst of dark magic blasted her wing. She cried out in pain, before slashing the clone in the face. She quickly got up and examined her wing. Her wing was shredded, smoking with black magic, and dripping with shadows and blood. She winced at the sight, and groaned in pain as she fell to her knees. A shadow clone stepped forward, and was about to finish her off, when a 30. Cal round ripped through its head. A soldier ran up with his M-1 Garand ran over and lifted the wounded Dragonlord on his shoulders. "Cover fire!" An American with a Grease Gun and a German driver with an STG-44 opened fire, taking out more shadows as the soldier carried Ember to safety. Ember was carried behind a nearby BT-7 tank, the turret mounted DP-28 providing cover fire. Ember looked up to see a red cross on the soldier's helmet. The medic pulled out a roll of gauze from his pack and a little needle from his pocket. "Stay still, I got something to ease the pain.", he said, as he tried to inject the needle into Ember's scales. He found he couldn't gently pierce the reptilian skin, so he just stabbed it in hard. Ember shrieked in brief pain, before she began to doze off. She looked around with blurred vision, to see her wing being wrapped quickly in gauze. She could see blood slowly staining the gauze, but she didn't feel any pain. "What...what's happening...", Ember moaned, before the morphine took effect. She felt her temperature heat up, and she was soon knocked out. Somewhere else Edward followed Spike, who was no longer running, but tiredly trudging away. "You know she means well, right?", Edward asked. "Yeah...", Spike said. "But it's been like this for too long." "Oh?", Edward asked. He caught up with Spike and stopped in front of him. "Go ahead. Explain." "When there's a party, they forget to invite me, because I have lots of work to do back home, organizing and cleaning up and when I'm done, they're done.", Spike said. "You're an assistant? I'd say Twilight should give you more credit.", Edward said. "Can she blame me for wanting to help Ember? I mean, all of Equestria's at stake, and she tells me to stay?", Spike asked, his voice slowly rising. The lieutenant didn't know much on dragons, but he knew they could breathe fire. "OK, calm down.", he said, before looking around. He knelt down and tapped the little drake on the shoulder. "How about I take you to the battle, just you and me. Front row seat of the action, huh?", he asked. "No fighting, just watching." Spike smiled. "Really?", he asked. "You have my word, kid.", Edward said. "Thanks!", Spike said, hugging the lieutenant tightly. Edward smirked as he walked to a nearby jeep. "Come on, hop in.", Edward said. In the battle, the soldiers were being pushed back. They'd taken several casualties, but the number of shadow ponies they'd killed were well in the thousands, as the clones were very easy to kill. "Fall back to the tanks!!", Jones yelled. "Get back!!" The Shermans, halftracks, Hellcats, Greyhounds, Tigers, T-34s, and BT-7s were in a big defensive lines. During the battle, engineers had fixed the tanks and set up barbed wire and sandbags, or in this case, dirtbags. The soldiers all ran over the defense line and behind the tanks. Several soldiers with ROKS and M2 flamethrowers were lined up on the tanks, with the remaining soldiers behind the tanks. The increasing number of shadow ponies charged at the tanks. "FIRE!!", Jones yelled. Over a hundred tanks fired at the ponies, blowing up the first wave all at once. The second wave galloped in, getting closer. Once they got hit by the barbed wire and dirtbag line, a flamethrower wielding sergeant smirked. "Torch 'em!", he roared. Waves of fire shot out forty meters from the tank line, burning hundreds of shadow clones, and forcing their lines back. The fires burrowed in the shadows, and spread from shadow pony to shadow pony, lighting the whole army on fire. Eventually, the fire reached the plume of shadow, and it became a plume of fire. Everyone watched as the tower of exploding flame slowly shrank into a singed mark on the ground. Soon, all that was left of the attacking army was at least a mile of smoking and burning ground. Edward and Spike drove up, to see the battle was already over. "Aww, we missed it.", Edward said. Celestia trotted forward. "Oh dear.", she said. Twilight looked up to Jones. "You beat them...you actually defeated his army.", she said. "Yup. No match for humans.", Jones said. "This isn't over." Jones and Twilight looked to Celestia. "I can sense his dark magic everywhere. They're minute, so he cannot regenerate in time, but he'll go somewhere with more corruption.", Celestia said. She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Get to Cloudsdale. Get the Wonderbolts.", she said. Rainbow Dash saluted. "Yes, ma'am.", she said, before taking off. The sun princess trotted to Ember and the medic. She was asleep, still under the effects of painkillers. "She'll be alright. It'll take her an hour to wake up, though.", the medic said. "Yes, I hope so.", Celestia said. The medic left, as Spike ran in. "Ember!", he cried. He cradled her head in his arms, before looking up at Celestia. "Will she be alright?", he asked. Celestia gave a gentle motherly smile. "Of course. She'll wake up soon", she said. Twilight hurried over. "Spike! Where'd you go?", she asked. Spike couldn't tell Twilight that he wanted to go to the battle. She'd either get mad at him, or at Edward. "I...I was with Edward.", he said. "At least that wasn't a lie.", Spike thought. He looked around. "Where's Rainbow Dash?", he asked. "I sent her to get the Wonderbolts. We'll need their help.", Celestia said. Later Rainbow Dash flew past a cloud. She could tell she was near Cloudsdale. "Come on, come on, Princess Celestia's counting on me!", Rainbow Dash muttered, as she picked up speed. She shot past a cloud, but little did she know there was a shadow following her. She landed on a cloud to catch her breath, when she heard a buzzing sound. She looked around, but she couldn't see anything. There were more clouds than usual. "What the...", she muttered. Then a yellow and black blur shot by, scaring the living sense out of her. "What the buck?!", she cried. She looked around. Nothing was there. But that buzzing sound was still there. She quickly took off and flew up. She looked behind her, to see a winged shadow following her. She flew faster, until she was above the clouds. She turned around, to see a black propeller powered flying machine, with a windshield on the top and long immobile wings. Its nose was yellow, and a large cross was printed on the side. The BF 109 shot towards Rainbow Dash, its nose mounted machine guns firing at the cyan Pegasus. Rainbow Dash felt a bullet graze her mane, and she flew away. "Gotta reach Cloudsdale, gotta reach Cloudsdale! Need to get to safety!", Rainbow Dash cried. She was flying out of fear and adrenaline, dodging clouds and bullets. She turned back to see the Luftwaffe fighter plane shoot through a cloud, dispersing the fluffy object. Rainbow Dash reached Cloudsdale, to see a horrible sight. Wonderbolts and German fighters were dogfighting around Cloudsdale, some Pegasi getting shot down. Cloudsdale was getting bombarded by strafing runs from the BF 109 fighters, and several Stuka bombers, explosions and fire burning up the whole city. "Oh...shit.", Rainbow Dash muttered.
For The SkyView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarFor The SkySeveral Vickers E tanks rolled over some plants, approaching a large shiny hole filled mountain. The rumbling shook the mountain, causing some rocks to fall. Two multicolored quadrupedal creatures stood in front of the tanks stopped talking to each other, before looking up at the tall machine. Its two high caliber machine guns gleamed against the sun. The two creatures looked nervously at each other, before looking up at the tank. "H-halt. What brings you to the Changeling Empire?", one asked in a shaky voice. The hatch on the front tank opened, and a man wearing a blue hat and a blue military uniform stepped out. He held a Suomi KP/31 in his hands. "Mitä?", he asked. "Why are you in the C-Changeling Empire?", a Changeling asked, still frightened. The man smiled, before stepping forward. "Apologies. I am Tank Commander Ahti. We are the 2nd Tank Company of Finland.", he said. The two Changelings grinned a little, relieved that the new arrivals were friendly. "What's Finland?", a Changeling asked. "Excuse me!" Thorax, leader of the Changeling Kingdom, trotted forward to meet the human armored commander. "Hi, I'm Thorax. What brings you here?", Thorax asked. He held out his hoof, which Ahti shook. "I'm Ahti. We appear to be lost. Tell me, are we in the Eastern Front or the Western Front? Our compass seems to be broken.", Ahti said. Thorax blinked. "I'm sorry, but this is Equestria.", he said. "Equestria?", Ahti asked. "Actually, I can ask later. What is the Changeling Kingdom?" Thorax smiled. "I can explain. Would you like the long version or the short version?" Somewhere else Rainbow Dash shot past a Stuka, as its bomb dropped onto Cloudsdale. The giant explosion sent her spiraling, before she recovered. She looked around, and saw Spitfire being chased by a BF-109. Its 7.9 mm were blazing, bullets shooting past the panicking Wonderbolt captain. Rainbow Dash quickly flew over and caught up to the 109, which didn't notice her, until Rainbow Dash kicked out its tail wing. The back wing flew off, and the fighter spiraled out of control, before exploding through Cloudsdale. A plume of fire and smoke rising out from over and under the cloud city. Rainbow Dash caught up to Spitfire. "Captain! What's happening?!", she called. The fiery maned Pegasus panted as she flew. "These things just attack Cloudsdale! There are dead everywhere! S-Soarin...", Spitfire hyperventilated. Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink. "Please tell me he's OK!", she said. "He was hit! His hoof has a hole in it!", Spitfire cried. Rainbow Dash gulped, as she tried to imagine the scene. SHe shook her head and forced Spitfire on a cloud before she shook her forcefully. "Captain! We need your head in the game!!", Rainbow Dash cried. "What do we do?!" Spitfire seemed to shake herself back to reality, and stood up. "We need to rally up all the Wonderbolts and evacuate Cloudsdale.", she said. "Yes, ma'am!", Rainbow Dash said, as she took off and flew towards a Stuka chasing two Wonderbolts. The dive bomber fired its MG-17 wing cannons, chasing Fleetfoot and Blaze through the clouds. Cover wasn't an option, for when the two Pegasus ponies tried to hide, bullets would rip through like nothing. Then Rainbow Dash flew behind the Stuka, planning on taking out the tail like she did so with the other fighter. She didn't see the gunner facing backwards on the cockpit. The MG-15 Light Machine Gun Turret fired back at Rainbow Dash, a bullet clipping her wing. That alone was enough to send her spinning into the Stuka's tail. She grabbed the tail before she could fall off, and hung on for dear life. She looked to see the rear gunner aiming at her. At this angle, she wasn't able to move without falling off. She closed her eyes, as she expected to hear the "rat-tat-tat" of gunfire before her life ended. Instead, heard the pounding "BOOM" of lightning. She opened her eyes, to see the rear gunner's exploded body in the shattered cockpit, the MG-15 leaning lifelessly on the side. She looked up to see three Wonderbolts with some sort of contraption tied to their backs. She felt a pair of hooves wrap around her, and saw Fire Streak pulling her away from the Stuka. The three Wonderbolts, High Winds, Misty Fly, and Surprise, shot towards the Stuka, and the strange contraptions on their backs fired bolts of lightning. One bolt of lightning took out the MG-17 guns, igniting all the ammunition in the wing. The whole gull wing exploded, before the explosion reached the engine. The whole dive bomber exploded in a magnificent torrent of fire and smoke. Fire Streak set Rainbow Dash on a cloud, before the other three Wonderbolts landed on the cloud with them. "Hey, Crash. You OK?", Misty Fly asked. Rainbow Dash smiled. "Dizzy? Hoof-In-Mouth? Slowpoke?", she asked, using their nicknames. "Heh...", Surprise said. "Not too slow now, huh?" "What are those?", Rainbow "Crash" asked. "New lightning cannons. We're gonna zap those things out of the sky!", High Winds said. An explosion rippled through the sky, shaking all the clouds, and making everything fall silent. "What now?!", Fire Streak groaned, flexing his wings for takeoff. "Over there!", Misty Fly said, pointing her hoof at the burning city of Cloudsdale. Several large planes were flying over the city, and even more explosions and fire were shooting out of the city. These planes were double engine designed, and a stepless cockpit, a MG-42 sticking out the nose. The formation of Heinkel He 111 bombers dropped their payload, as the gunners fired their MGs at any nearby Pegasi and clouds. Some FW-190s and BF-109s were flying alongside the group of medium bombers. "Cloudsdale...", Surprise said. "It's...it's done for." Rainbow Dash growled, as she got up and tried to take off, but her clipped wing made it harder. "We have...we have to fight!", she said. "Those guys are taking our homes! We can't do nothing!" Misty Fly glared up at the fleet of flying machines. "We have to fight.", she said. "For Cloudsdale!", High Winds said. "For Equestria!!", Surprise yelled. The three took off, as several other Wonderbolts rallied by Spitfire flew with them, all armed with lightning cannons. Rainbow Dash could only watch as the fighters broke formation to engage the Pegasus air force. Two FW-190s chased a group of Wonderbolts, before the cockpits were sniped by High Winds and another Pegasus. Then High Winds's wingpony was blown to shreds by a Stuka bomb, sending her falling. Spitfire and Misty Fly landed her on a cloud, before chasing the Junker dive bomber. Theie two lightning cannons fired at the fighter/bomber, with the rear gunner emptying its turret into the Pegasi. Luckily, none of the bullets hit, and Spitfire managed to zap the Stuka's unused bomb, the fighter exploding. Spitfire and Misty Fly hoof-bumped, before a Heinkel flew by. A pair of Heinkels flew in close, its MG weaponry firing in all directions. Pegasi started dropping out of the sky, and the Wonderbolts quickly changed formation. "Cover me!", Blaze yelled. Spitfire and Misty Fly nodded and banked hard, as Blaze and Fire Streak shot straight at the Heinkels. "Eingehend!!", one of the Heinkel's nose gunners said, and the cramped MG-42 mount started firing. The other Heinkel opened fire as well. Blaze and Fire Streak dodged as many bullets as possible, banking, flipping, and spinning. Soon, they were meters away from flying into the Heinkels. "Now!", Blaze yelled. The two fired their lightning cannons, and they struck one of the Heinkel's nose gunners. The windows shattered, and the MG exploded. Soon, the front of the medium bomber was destroyed, but the cockpit was still intact, and the wounded pilots were still flying. Two crew members grabbed spare MG-42s, and started firing out the open space. The other untouched Heinkel fired as well, and Blaze and Fire Streak broke off. "Wo sind sie hin?", the untouched Heinkel pilot asked, as the rear gunners looked around. The ventral gunner looked down. "Von unten!!", he yelled, before firing. Spitfire and Misty Fly were flying from below, firing their lightning cannons. The two belly gunners of the bomber opened fire, bullets blazing down violently. Misty Fly's lightning cannon was hit, and it began to rattle. Misty Fly gasped and quickly unstrapped the burning weapon. "Throw it!!", Spitfire cried, before breaking off. Misty Fly flew faster, the smoke trailing weapon heating up faster and faster. Misty Fly quickly flew off, out of turning view of the rear gunner. She flew in the big hole in the Heinkel, startling all the crew members. "Have a nice fall!!", she yelled, throwing the lightning cannon at the pilots. It detonated on impact of the two Germans, and the whole craft shook violently. The hull of the Heinkel stayed intact, but the dark green color of the craft heated up to a bright scalding golden color. Fires began to break out in the bomber, and lightning zapped all over the hull, electrocuting other bombers and their escorts. Bombers and fighter planes started exploding and dropping out of the sky, spreading like the domino effect. A burning Heinkel landed in Cloudsdale, exploding. Misty Fly was about to fly out the blasted open space, before she was tackled by a German crew member. "Oh nein, das tust du nicht!!", the German growled. Misty Fly struggled to get free, but the man's grip was made of iron. "Lemme go!!", she cried in panic. She could see the bomber falling, smoke billowing behind her, and the MG-42 stuck in front of her. She grabbed the machine gun with her free hooves, and swung it at the crew member, who fell back, falling into the bomb bay. She tried to get up, but instead knocked a satchel into the fire. On the satchel were the words "Granaten" on it. The satchel lit on fire, before it tumbled into the bomb bay with the crew member. Misty Fly quickly flew out of the plummeting Heinkel, before flying back up. Not one minute after she flew out, the satchel ignited the bomb bay, detonating everything in the craft. Misty Fly could feel the force of the explosion, as she was hurled through a cloud, spinning uncontrollably. Then she felt hooves grab her, and she opened her eyes. Fire Streak and Surprise were holding on to her, looks of concern and worry on their faces. Burning pieces of Heinkels, Stukas, FW-190s, and BF-109s rained down from the sky, as the three Pegasi made their way up to Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Blaze, Fleetfoot, High Winds, and the remaining surviving Wonderbolts were on a large cloud, watching the burning craft disappear under the clouds. Spitfire turned around to see Misty Fly and the other two Wonderbolts landing on the cloud. She quickly trotted over to the three. "Hey, you good?", Spitfire asked. "That looked like it was rough down there." "I'm good.", Misty Fly said. "I have never been in anything more intense." "Come on, we need to help Cloudsdale recover.", Rainbow Dash said, as the Wonderbolts helped each other fly up to the burning, but surviving, city. On the ground A pilot climbed out of a wrecked Stuka, a Luger in his hand. "Hurensohn...", he groaned, before a footstep caught his attention. He whirled around with his Luger, but then a shot rang out. The pilot fell to the ground, blood streaming out the arrow between his eyes. A female Pegasus pony with a white coat trotted forward. She had a multicolored mane and tail, all colors being various shades of red. Her right eye was red, and her left eye was a light shade of blue. She wore a red bandanna around her neck, and she had a black strip of cloth tied around her back right hoof. Her cutie mark was a set of crosshairs aimed at the skull of a pony. She held a crossbow in her hoof, and she had a sultry, yet evil smirk on her face. She slung her crossbow over her back and pried the goggles of the deceased pilot's head. "What do we have here?", she said.
EverlastingView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarEverlastingIn the Crystal Empire, all was peaceful. The Crystal ponies walked through the square, and all around the streets. A Crystal pony, Autumn Gem, trotted along the edge of the empire, admiring her reflection in the shininess of the energy shield, projected by the Crystal Heart in the square. "Lookin' beautiful!", she said, before a little rumbling caught her attention. She slowly backed away from the shield, andhid behind a house. She saw something step through the shield, and she gasped. In the Crystal Castle, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her loyal and lovely husband Shining Armor sat on their thrones in a giant throne room, with Flurry Heart's baby crib right in between them. The baby alicorn cooed as Cadence held a little baby toy over her head. Taking care of a magic crazy foal had gotten easier, and the royal couple were managing. Then the door burst open, and several Crystal guards galloped in. "Your Majesties! Intruders!", one said. Cadence abruptly stood up. "What? What's the status of the Crystal Heart?", she asked. Shining Armor looked outside, to see it all clear outside. "The shield is holding, but...it's not stopping them.", the other guard said. Shining Armor ran out of the throne room, to hear screams and gallops outside. He ran down the stairs and reached the door, to see something horrifying. German soldiers were holding ponies hostage, and several Flammpanzer III tanks were all over the empire. One soldier wore a brown singed trench coat, and a black German helmet with a pack of cigarettes strapped on it. The man wore two fuel tanks on his back and held a customized Flammenwerfer. He looked to see Shining Armor, and he smiled. "Greetings, I'm Jack. What's your name?", the man asked. Shining Armor charged up an ice burst with his horn, and fired a beam of frozen magic at the trooper. Jack's eyes widened, before he quickly held up his weapon, and firing. The burst of ignited tar and petrol burned right through Shining Armor's magic, and melted the stream of ice. Shining Armor stared in horror and fright at the terrifying patch of fire on the Crystal ground. The ponies were all scared for their lives, as the German troops held them all at gunpoint. Cadence and the two guards hurried outside, only receive a burst of flame in front of them. "No more hostility, ja?", Jack asked. "It would be groß if we'd sit down for some coffee." Jack snapped his fingers, and a German soldier holding a black kettle and a tray of cups walked over. "S-sure...just don't hurt anypony else, OK?", Cadence said, cautiously. Jack smiled kindly. "Of course, we will definitely lower our torches against the ones who attacked my men and nearly burnt one alive.", he said in a noticeable sarcastic tone. One German soldier sat on a Flammpanzer, glaring at the Crystal Empire rulers. He had a bandage wrapped around his face, like a mask, and his arm on a sling. His uniform was singed badly. "Come. German coffee is good, you'll agree.", Jack said. Shining Armor and Cadence exchanged nervous looks. "Not like we're falling asleep anytime soon.", Shining Armor muttered. In the Changeling Kingdom, Ahti and Thorax sat at a table, chatting about each other's worlds. "You have a lot of technology.", Thorax said. "I'm impressed." "Humans have been evolving for millions of years...unfortunately, war has evolved as well.", Ahti said. "How so?", Thorax asked, folding his front hooves. "Germany has gone on a tyrannical reign, kidnapping and murdering millions of innocents.", Ahti said. Changelings all around them gasped in surprise and horror. "We are some of the only ones who will stand against them, even though Germany is one of our allies." "What happened with Finland? You mentioned your country was near Germany somewhat?", Thorax asked. A Changeling, taller than the others, yet shorter than Thorax, flew in. He had a black coat, and shiny purple eyes. "Oh, hey Pharynx.", Thorax said. "Uhh, what's going on?", Pharynx asked. The Changeling ruler smiled. "These are humans. They were transported here by accident, and...well...he was telling us about the war on his world.", he said. "War? What's it like?", Pharynx asked, suddenly interested. Thorax sighed at his older brother. "Pharynx, it's more of a massacre than a war.", Thorax said. That shut the Changeling patrol guard down immediately. "Oh...that's not good.", he said. Ahti got up. "Well, it's been fun and all, but we really need to get back to getting home. We have to defend from the natsit.", he said. Thorax jumped up. "Wait, we haven't shown you guys what we can do!", he said. "Oh, what can you do?", Ahti asked, turning to face Thorax, to see he wasn't there. "Over here." Ahti turned to see a flamingo. "Not bad, huh?", he asked. "So...you can change?", Ahti asked. "Yup.", Thorax said, turning back to his former form. "Helps in intimidating anything dangerous that comes close to the hive." Ahti looked to his Vickers tanks, and smiled. "So you can change into anything, yes?", he asked. "Yeah.", Thorax said. "Why?" Somewhere else Lena trotted through the empty field, the bloody goggles on her head, and the crossbow slung over her back. The Luger from the dead pilot was tied to her hoof. She spread her wings and took flight, shooting up through the clouds faster than any normal Pegasus. She maneuvered past clouds and past winds, before reaching above cloud level. She landed on a cloud, before lying on the fluffy substance. She smiled as the cool wind at the high altitude blew on her mane. Then a loud roar filled her ears. Her eyes shot open, and she looked around. The roar was getting louder, and the clouds began to slowly move. Lena quickly took off, before the cloud below her exploded, as a gray blur shot right up through it. The Messerschmitt 262 shot through the sky, jets roaring loudly. Lena stared in shock at the ridiculously fast craft. Then more 262 craft shot upwards, dispersing clouds and causing Lena to maneuver through the storm of jet fighters. She armed her crossbow, put on the goggles, and started flying towards one of the jets. The German jets were at cruising speed, so she could easily catch up. The leader of the flying pack had a black jet, with white stripes, outlining the Iron Cross and the Swastika emblems on the hull of the craft. "Die formation anziehen.", the squadron leader said. The jets closed up, and Lena flew under the pack. She mentally counted to ten, and examined the planes. There were no propellers on their noses, but she saw two strange machines under their wings. "That's probably their power...", Lena muttered, before smirking. "I may not be getting paid for this, but I'll definitely be getting a rush from this." The mercenary adrenaline junkie flew in close to a 262's engine. She could feel the force pulling her towards the jet. She pulled out a crossbow arrow from her quiver, and shook it slightly. The arrow lit on fire, and she hurled it at the engine. The jet engine sucked the burning arrow right through it, and a rattle was heard through the engine. Then a burst of fire shot out the back of the engine, staggering the aircraft a bit. "Donner vier, du hast Rauch aus deinem zweiten motor.", a pilot said. "Donner zwei, das ist Donner vier, bestätigt.", the pilot said, as he looked at his engine. He pressed a button on his controls, and the engine slowed down. The shattered pieces of the arrow trailed out, startling the pilot. "Etwas ist in meinem Motor steckengeblieben. Es ist jetzt klar.", the pilot said. Sure enough, smoke was no longer trailing from the engine. He looked up, only for an arrow to shatter the cockpit and pierce his chest. The glass exploded, and the pilot was sucked out of the craft. "Unterbrechung! Unterbrechung!", the squadron leader barked. The seven jet fighters broke formation, as the eighth fighter slowly sank under the clouds. Lena turned to see where the busted 262 was heading. "Oh dear...", she said. The fighter jet spiraled to the ground, before exploding on impact in the Everfree Forest. The explosion lit a nearby tree on fire, before the blaze spread outward, with a burning 262 chassis sticking out of the forest. In Ponyville, everyone and everypony heard the explosion. They turned to see a massive cloud of smoke billowing up from the forest. Animals of all sorts were running, galloping, crawling, and flying out, as the fire spread. A hydra ran out in panic, and Jones hid behind his tank. Ember got up, groaning from all the commotion. "Dragonlord!", a dragon said, helping her up to her feet. Ember could feel the panic around her, with animals and humans running around. The ponies had evacuated, taking the trains to Canterlot as Celestia had ordered. "What's...what's happening?", Ember groaned. "There's a fire. We need to get outta here!", a dragon said. "Right...we need to help with-wait.", Ember said. "Where's Spike?" Somewhere else Edward drove the jeep towards the burning forest. The fires had not reached the edge of the trees yet. "You sure about this, kid?", he asked. "Yes! Zecora's still in there!", Spike said. "We need to get her out!" "Alright, I'm trusting you on this.", Edward said. He parked the jeep and the human and the drake jumped out and ran into the forest. Back in Ponyville Celestia aimed her horn at the sky, and several rain clouds moved over the Everfree, before raining down on the fires, slowly dampening it. Fluttershy was attempting to calm down all the animals, as the other ponies were bringing buckets of water to douse any flames the animals unintentionally brought with them. Edward carried an unconscious Zecora on his back, and set her back on the jeep, as Spike ran up and jumped in the car. "Come on! Let's go!", Spike said, as Edward jumped in the military scout vehicle. He turned the ignition and drove off, just as the fire reached the edge of the forest. The two reached Ponyville, to see Twilight panting with an empty bucket levitating in her magic. Twilight turned to see Spike and Edward carrying Zecora out of the jeep. "Spike! Where were you?!", Twilight cried. "We needed to get Zecora out!", Spike said. "Help me get her to the doctor guys over there!" "No, we're gonna talk first!", Twilight said. She sounded mad. She glared up at Edward. "You! Why'd you bring a baby dragon to the burning forest?!", she demanded. Edward shrugged. "He asked. Plus we saved a life.", Edward said. "You don't risk my assistant's life! You don't ever do that!", Twilight yelled. "IS THAT ALL I AM TO YOU?! AN ASSISTANT?!", Spike cried. Twilight froze. "I-I didn't mean-", she said. Before she could finish, Spike turned to Edward, startling the lieutenant a little. "Edward, can I go with you guys?", Spike asked. "Wait, what?" "Spike, no!", Twilight cried. "I wanna get out of here, please!", Spike said. "You're a kid.", Edward said. "I know my way around Equestria. I can put you on good terms with the other kingdoms, and guide you around.", Spike said, frantically. "You wanna leave?", Twilight asked, before Spike whirled around on her. "You treat me like nothing more than a helper! In the Crystal Empire, you promised you'd never send me away! But...I guess I was never really with you, was I?", Spike muttered. "That's not true, I always valued you, more than I could ever admit!", Twilight cried in desperation. "Don't leave, I'm begging you!" Spike turned to Edward. The choice was his now. "I...I'll ask Jones.", Edward said. "You're the boss, right?", Spike asked, a pleading tone in his voice. "Y-yeah, but-", Edward stuttered. "Please?", Spike asked. "Edward, don't!", Twilight said. Edward thought about this. He could choose to bring Spike along, probably gain a good ally for when they needed to get back home, as well as a sort of guide for their soldiers. But then if he said yes, Twilight and those other ponies would probably never let them leave. If they did back off, it'd affect everyone around. He could bring Spike and keep their men alive, but lose the trust of Equestria. Or he could leave Spike here, but risk the lives of all his men when they leave. He decided to choose... Author's Note It's your choice, commenters and viewers! But I have a feeling which choice you guys are gonna make...
I'm SorryView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarI'm SorryAuthor's Note The next chapter will involve Edward's choice, and the story will be on pause until I get enough answers. Thank you for waiting. I'm Sorry Thorax stood with Ahti, disguised as a human Finnish soldier holding a ZB vz 30. He looked behind, to see at least a hundred Changelings disguised as soldiers as well. "Are you sure this is a good idea?", Thorax asked. "Yes, our forces are worn thin enough as it is, and we're kind of desperate.", the tank commander said. "I hope your brother can manage." Pharynx waved with the other Changelings as the tank convoy prepared to move out. "OK...but if you're all soldiers, why don't you take a fighter? I may be assertive, but...I don't fight.", Thorax said. "We wish to avoid conflict. I do like fighting just like the rest of my men, but even I know when it's time to let go of the trigger.", Ahti said. Thorax didn't know what that meant, but he knew the concept of it, and he nodded. He turned to Pharynx and smiled. "I trust you'll take care of the kingdom while I'm gone?", he asked. Pharynx grinned. "You can trust me, brother." Thorax climbed up the tank, with some effort, considering he hadn't walked on two legs under these circumstances before. "Well, ready to explore Equestria?", Thorax asked. "Yes, let's go.", Ahti said. He held up a hand, before yelling. "ETEENPÄIN!!" The Vickers tanks rolled out, with the "troops" sitting on the tanks. Pharynx watched as the tanks left the kingdom, before turning around. In the Crystal Empire Jack watched as the ponies were held up in a line, troops with MP-40 and MP-18 submachine guns guarding them. The Flammpanzer III and Panzerkampfwagen IV tanks were strategically surrounding the castle, and the royal guards had Flammenwerfers aiming at them. In the center of the castle area, two Hummel self-propelled guns and a Sturmgeschütz III were aimed outwards. Overall, there were twenty German tanks and about a hundred and fifty troops, about thirty of them armed with Flammenwerfers. Jack looked out at the lead Flammpanzer III that he commanded, a black chassis with flame emblems painted on the side. "There's something about fear, denkst du nicht?", Jack asked. He turned to see Shining Armor and Cadence guarding Flurry Heart from the German sergeant holding a Gewehr at them. "What do you want?", Shining Armor asked. "Simple. We need your cooperation. We'd like you to tell us where the Americans went.", Jack said. "What are Americans?", Shining Armor asked. "Listen, I have nein time for jokes, talking horses. Where. Are. The. Allied. Forces?", he asked with a tone that got more intimidating with every word. "Listen, we don't even know what you are. You're the first of your kind to come here! Why would we know what you are looking for-", Cadence cried, before the sergeant swung his gun at the Princess of Love, knocking her to the ground. "Cadence!!", Shining Armor cried. Flurry Heart began to cry at the sight of her weakened mother. "Hey! Say you're sorry!", Jack said, smacking the sergeant on his helmet. The sergeant grumbled, before looking sourly at Cadence. "Ich entschuldige mich.", he said. "He said he's sorry.", Jack said. Cadence felt a bruise on her face, and she winced. She looked at fear at the sergeant, who was currently being chastised by Jack. "I apologize, Din here can be quite impulsive. but believe me, he's a very good soldier, efficient at his job.", Jack said. "Please, don't hurt anypony.", Shining Armor said. Jack sighed. "People call Germans monsters. That the Schutzstaffel is evil." They have a right to!", Shining Armor said. Jack looked to Shining Armor. "Our leader...our Führer is a father figure, and I admit, his methods are questionable, but after what happened to us, we need this. Too many Germans have died under tyranny of the Allies, and it's time for us to retaliate.", he said. Cadence sensed a rage in his voice compared to none other than the dark aura of King Sombra himself. "What...what happened?", she asked. Jack rubbed his eyes. "Do you really want to know?", he asked. "Yes. Revenge is never the answer.", Cadence said. Jack turned around, before taking off his helmet. He had a large burn on his forehead, with singed hair and burnt off flesh. "Ever since we lost World War One, the Allies took our land, and we had to pay each Allied country millions in reparations for the war. We used our resources to pay the Allies, and millions died in overworking themselves. Money was worthless, and we needed to do everything unimaginable just to survive.", Jack explained. He pointed to the burned scar on his head. "I worked in a vehicle factory, making Panzers to rebuild our military force in secret. Work was a lot riskier because of our economic downfall, so machinery would break down a lot.", he said. "What caused that?", Shining Armor asked. "You want to know? A crane carrying a heated fuel rod broke, and the fuel rod burned into my head. They had to peel the rod out of my head slowly and painfully.", Jack said. "And nobody cared!" Cadence suddenly felt empathy for Jack. "I-I'm so sorry-", she said. "Sorry? For what?", Jack spat. He was more angry than ever, and his tone frightened Cadence. He sighed and put his helmet back on. "I'm sorry, this memory is just schrecklich.", Jack said. Cadence ignored his occasional German in his sentences. It wasn't like she could understand anyway. "I know what it's like to be neglected, even if it was unintentional.", she said. Cadence explained how on her wedding, she was abducted by the impostor known as Queen Chrysalis, and how Twilight had saved her from death in the caverns. "I was thinking about revenge, but I remembered I had friends at stake. I didn't, nor will I ever want to lose them for my own personal gain.", Cadence said. She stepped forward towards Jack, who didn't move. "You can save yourself before it's too late.", Cadence said. "Revenge is a one way trip." Jack growled and sighed. He walked away, as the sergeant walked over to him. Shining Armor wiped a tear from his face. Cadence trotted over. "What?" "I just remembered...at the wedding. I never got to apologize to Twily...", he sniffed. Cadence blinked. "Why would you need to apologize?" Shining Armor froze. He never told Cadence about what happened at the wedding rehearsal. "I...I have something to tell you.", he said. Shining Armor proceeded to tell Cadence at the rehearsal, when Chrysalis was still the impostor. Her eyes widened in shock when she heard about what Shining Armor, Celestia, and Twilight's friends had said to the Element of Magic before Twilight was teleported to Canterlot's lower caverns. Although Shining Armor wasn't saying anything about cheating on her, her reaction could very well be an equivalent. "You kicked her out?!", Cadence cried. "And you kept this from me for so long?!" "I know, I've been feeling horrible about it ever since!", Shining Armor said. "And you never checked on her?!", Cadence yelled. "How could you?!" Shining cowered in fear. "I...I tried to, but by then I was completely brainwashed!", he protested. "I can't believe this!", Cadence growled, as she walked over to a crystal pillar and kicked it. It didn't crack, and Cadence fell to the floor, clutching her hoof in pain. Shining Armor just sat there, tears streaming down her eyes. Neither of them heard Flurry Heart's cries as Jack came back into the room. "Hello?", Jack asked. The sergeant walked in with them, and the two stared. Cadence was angrily cursing while holding her hoof, Shining Armor was doing nothing, and Flurry Heart was crying on the floor. "...ponys sind seltsam.", the sergeant said, as Jack came over and picked Flurry Heart off the floor. "Yes, they are...although, some of them are exceptions.", Jack said. He tickled the foal alicorn's belly, and she giggled. "You know, Din? I've always wanted a tochter.", Jack said, as Flurry Heart cooed in his arms. He stepped out of the throne room, unnoticed by the angry pain induced Cadence and the sorrowing Shining Armor.
You Can'tView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarYou Can'tEdward sighed. "I'm sorry, Spike.", he said. "You have to stay." Spike looked down. "But...I can help.", he said. Edward knelt down to his level. "Look, Twilight doesn't see you as an assistant. She sees you as her little brother. She told me that.", he said. Twilight blinked. She was about to chastise Edward for lying, when he continued. "When you ran, I saw her crying. Just now, she was begging you to stay. If you were merely a helper, she would just find someone else, right?", Edward said. "Plus, she's supposed to be the Princess Of Friendship." Spike looked up, as Edward used the strap on his BAR to wipe his tears away. "Besides, doctor's orders.", Edward said, smirking. (Shout-out to THE DOCTOR for coming up with this story's first OC.) Spike looked confused, before ignoring what he just said. "Yeah, sure...doctor...", he muttered. He was about to walk away, when Twilight hugged him. "Please forgive me, Spike. I don't want you gone, or ever sad because of me. I'm sorry for all the times you felt like you were taken for granted.", Twilight said, a few tears streaming down her face. "I-I'm so sorry." Spike sighed, before grinning a little. "I forgive you...", he said. Edward sighed, as he looked at his men, and the Germans and Russians walking back towards Ponyville. "I really hope I made the right choice.", Edward sighed. Then a sound filled the air. "boom...boom...boom...boom...boom..." Everyone could hear the noises, looking around. "boom...boom...boom...boom...boom..." A soldier holding an M-1903 Springfield looked out in the distance, using his iron sights. Two gray German 3-ton 4 x 2 cargo trucks drove along the still burning Everfree Forest, with German 2 cm Flak 38 cannons mounted on them. The trucks swerved a couple meters closer, and the flak cannons fired again. "BOOM...BOOM...BOOM...BOOM...BOOM..." Everyone ducked and took cover, hands over their heads and helmets, hitting the ground. Celestia quickly teleported out of the way. The loud flak fire kept booming, but no explosions rang out in Ponyville. However, something was blocking the clouds. Jones looked up, to see a certain blue Pegasus dodging flak explosions, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. "Schieße sie ab!! Schieße sie ab!!", the German sergeant standing with one of the flak guns in a truck yelled. The two guns kept firing, as Rainbow Dash flew forward as fast as she could. But the trucks were fast, and those flak gubs had ridiculously long range. She hid behind a cloud, and the gunfire stopped for a moment, before a cloud right next to her exploded in shrapnel and smoke. Rainbow Dash yelped and flew off, the trucks still chasing her. One of the truck drivers swerved around, heading towards Ponyville to intercept her, before a BT-7 rolled by, blocking the truck. The driver hit the brakes, and the truck stopped, jolting the Flak 38 in the back. The German gunner jumped up. "Was zur Hölle machst du...", he said, when he saw the Russian tank blocking the truck's path. The DP-28 gunner on the tank's turret glared down on the truck. "Otoydi. Teper'.", he said. The other truck was still chasing Rainbow Dash, firing fast. Celestia and several Royal Guards charged at the truck headfirst, firing bursts of magic. The flak gunner saw this and turned to aim at the incoming equine attackers, getting ready to spin the hand crank. Celestia generated a magic shield against the incoming flak fire. She glared at the truck, as the flak began to fire. Suddenly, a two guards exploded in a cloud of smoke and bloody mist, shrapnel hitting the ground. Celestia gasped, seeing as her shield had no effect against the barrage off flak. Then she remembered. The humans didn't use magic, instead using technology, which she had no countermeasures against. Unless... She generated a new shield against the truck, and quickly galloped off, as did the surviving guards. The truck rammed into the golden barrier, before getting stuck, the back end completely sticking into the air. The gunner let out a yell as he fell off the flak gun and onto the ground. The truck driver smashed through the truck's windshield, and hit the ground, a busted tree trunk impaling him, right in front of Fluttershy, who's just arrived. She let out a shriek of horror, instantly bringing everyone else over. A trooper came over, and saw the driver impaled on the branch, his bloody guts everywhere. "Whoa...that's gotta hurt.", he said. Fluttershy passed out in front of the soldier, and Celestia went over to one of her Royal Guards. "What's the situation?", Celestia asked. "A tank intercepted the other one.", the guard said. "Miss Dash will be safe." Rainbow Dash flew over and stared at the Flak 38. Her eyes widened when the turret turned to aim at her. She let out a cry as she hid behind a tree. Twilight and Spike came over. "Rainbow Dash?", she asked, worried and concerned. Rainbow Dash peeked back at the flak gun. It was still looking down, shells smoking in the basket. An American and a German looked up at the truck sticking up in the air. Twilight and Rarity were helping Fluttershy up, ans comforting her for the horrible sight she'd just witnessed. The American rubbed his head, or helmet, and looked over at Celestia. "Do you think you can, uhh...bring it down?", the American asked. Celestia released the barrier, and the truck landed on the ground. The front was wrecked way beyond repair, and the back was slighlty dented. the Flak 38, however was completely undamaged. Rainbow Dash could hear the booms of the flak gun, chasing her, shrapnel grazing her fur and feathers. She felt her forehead, it was bleeding lightly. She hurried over to a puddle on the ground and gazed at her reflection. A half inch shard of flak was embedded in her head above her right eye, and she didn't even notice. It didn't hurt either. But the sight of it was still enough to make her pass out. A medic and Rarity saw her fall to the ground, and they hurried over to Rainbow Dash. "Girls!!", Rarity cried. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy hurried over to Rarity, as the medic pried the piece of flak out of Rainbow Dash's head. "She'll be fine. Slight blood loss.", the medic said. "Oh, I hope so. That thing is scary.", Fluttershy said, looking over at the flak, which was being inspected by the Germans. The second truck drove over, the BT-7 keeping its gun on it. The Americans took the crew and began to explain what was going on, as the Germans hurried over to the other truck. They all went back to Ponyville, the undamaged truck towing the other truck back to the town. There, they took off the flak and set it up in the town square. The truck was mounted with a couple Brownings and loaded with ammo. "This is bad...", Applejack said. "Yeah, tell me about it!", Pinkie Pie said, stuffing a cupcake, out of nowhere, in her mouth. Applejack gave a confused look, but remembered it was Pinkie Pie. "Hey!" Applejack looked back to see a German and a tank she'd never seen before. The German soldier pointed at a Marder III. He had a confused look on his face. "Wann hatten wir das?", he asked. Suddenly, the roofless tank destroyer roared to life, before firing at a Sherman. The tank went up in flames, metal shards and fire shooting everywhere. Luckily, the Sherman was empty. Soldiers panicked and ran to cover, aiming their weapons and firing. The German that was in front of the Marder ran to the flak gun and started aiming at the tank destroyer. The Marder turned around and the soldier stared, not believing at what he was seeing. The open crew compartment was empty. The steering wheel was spinning on its own, and an artillery round just floated into the gun chamber. He shook himself back into reality and started firing. The flak storm completely annihilated the compartment. The metal was ripped apart, and a round hit the artillery chamber, blowing up the whole back of the tank. The tank stopped moving, ,but a loud cackle filled the air. Everyone slowly looked out to the tank destroyer. Out of the fires, a black shadowy mist floated out, the evil laughing flying away with it. Soon, everything was silent, except the crackling of the burning Marder III. The soldiers and ponies walked up to the tank. Edward kicked at the hull, before looking at the German who destroyed it. "We could've used that, you know.", he said.
Death For AllView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarDeath For AllEmber sat on the ground, idling with a 30 caliber shell on the grass. The fire in the Everfree was finally extinguished, but it was still devastated. She sighed, before looking at her wing. Nurse Redheart and the American medic had checked her wing for infection and told her something that scarred her for life. "You may never fly again." Ember blinked away a tear and sniffled. She'd never cried in her whole life, and she was not about to start now. A Russian soldier sat down near Ember, and lit a cigarette, before inhaling and exhaling softly. "Ahh...", he sighed. Ember looked over at the Russian. "Do you have any more of those?", she asked. The Russian looked over at Ember, before taking out another cigarette, lighting it, and offering it to her. Ember put the cigarette in her mouth, and inhaled. She coughed for a bit, choking for a brief second, but the carcinogens soon hit. She smiled and sighed, exhaling the smoke. "Thanks.", she said. "Izvinite?", the Russian asked. "Right...", Ember muttered. In the Crystal Empire, Cadence sat at one end of the room, while Shining Armor lay in the middle of the throne room. two long excruciating days had passed, both giving each other the silent treatment. None of them had noticed that Flurry Heart was missing, they were in their own forms of depression. Jack laughed as Flurry Heart flew around him, cooing in the most adorable way to him. "Uhh, sir?", Din said. "You remind me of my daughter.", Jack said, as he caught the baby alicorn, tickling her. "Sir.", Din repeated, more urgently this time. "Yes?", Jack said. Din pointed outside with his Gewehr, and Jack walked over to the door. Several Vickers tanks, loaded with infantry, were rolling towards the empire. Two Flammpanzers were on the edge of town, with a squad of Germans aiming at them. The Frozen North winds were making it hard to see, but the Flammpanzers were shooting bursts of fire that extinguished the cold weather every once in a while. The Stug III was readying its artillery cannon, when Jack and Din ran out. "Feuer nicht!!", he yelled. He ran to the edge of town and waved his hands. "Halte es!!", he yelled. The soldiers lowered their weapons, as the Finnish tanks stopped in a horizontal line outside the empire. The tanks were covered in snow, but no ice, strange enough. The soldiers got off the tanks, shivering as the cold got to them. "Is this a good idea?", Ahti whispered to Thorax. "Trust me, changelings have been a lot friendlier. I made sure of that.", Thorax whispered back to the commander, smiling. He trotted...err...walked towards the Germans. "We come in peace! We're lost and-", Thorax began to say, before a Flammpanzer on the left fired a burst of flame that nearly cooked him alive. Thorax yelped and practically flew back to Ahti. "OK then, never mind.", he said. "Wait!!" Jack ran towards them, his Flammenwerfer in his hands. "What happened out here?", he demanded. "We-we're looking for shelter, b-b-but-", Ahti said, shivering in the cold, before Jack cut him off. "Say no more. We will assist.", Jack said. He held up a hand, and the infantry and tanks moved back, opening a path into the warm empire. The Crystal ponies stared at the humans and vehicles outside the empire, surprised at how they weren't getting affected. Ahti and Thorax shrugged, before they, and the Finnish forces, entered. In the sky, Lena was getting chased by several 262 jets, MK 108 cannons blazing. A 30 mm round grazed her wing, causing her to spiral, before gaining control again. She drew her crossbow, and turned to fire, only for the jets to race past. When she turned around again, she was met with more aircraft fire. She dove towards the ground, dodging clouds and bullets. The several other jets chased her, firing their cannons. Lena reached the ground, and pulled up, before racing towards a certain village surrounded by American and German vehicles. "Gotta get to safety!", she said, flying at top speed. The lead German pilot blinked, when he saw Tigers and Shermans on the outskirts of the devastated town. "Amerikaner! Angriff abbrechen, wir haben ein neues Ziel.", the pilot said, before all seven planes veered off. Lena stared in amazement as they picked up speed. "As if they weren't fast enough.", she muttered, before she herself picked up speed. In the town of Ponyville, Twilight was talking to Rainbow Dash. "What happened? Did you get to Cloudsdale for help?", Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash slowly rubbed her head. "Cloudsdale is...gone...", she said. Twilight's eyes widened. Flashback Spitfire and Rainbow Dash walked around, looking for Soarin. All of Cloudsdale was full or injured or shellshocked Pegasi after the savage attack by the Luftwaffe's bomber fleet. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash turned and gasped. Soarin was lying on a cloud, bandages wrapped around his hoof. Blood stained the whole bandage, and the hoof. If Spitfire was right, and he really did have a hole in his hoof, she didn't wanna know. "Hey, are you OK?", Rainbow Dash asked. Soarin nuzzled Rainbow Dash, surprising her. "I missed you.", he said. "Are you OK?" "I-I'm OK.", Rainbow Dash said, blushing slightly. Soarin chuckled, before getting tackled by Spitfire. "SOARIN!! YOU'RE OK!", Spitfire cried, hugging her wingpony tightle, not caring how she looked to everypony else. Soarin nuzzled her back, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, I haven't been able to help you fight off those-", Soarin said. "Shh, you've been hurt. I wasn't about to let you hurt yourself over us.", Spitfire reassured. Soarin wiped a tear with his good hoof and hugged Spitfire again. Rainbow Dash quickly tapped Spitfire on the shoulder. The Wonderbolt captain turned to the rainbow named Pegasus. “Uhh...I originally came to ask for help, but I see you’ve kinda got your hooves full. But...well...there was-“, Rainbow Dash said. “What is it?”, Spitfire asked. “Umm, Ponyville is-“, Rainbow Dash said. Suddenly, a big chunk of cloud city was destroyed, a puff of black smoke in its place. “What was that?!”, Soarin said. Suddenly, chunks of Cloudsdale exploded, clouds and ponies flying. Down below, several trucks with Flak 38 guns were firing on the giant city. Flashback end. Twilight’s eyes were wide. “Oh no.”, she said. “I broke off, flew back here. Two of those things chased me. I’d never been so scared of a machine...”, Rainbow Dash said. Normally, she wouldn’t ever admit something like being scared. But those flak guns ignited a terror so great inside her that all her pride went out the window. “Rainbow...”, Twilight muttered. Then several roars filled the air. The seven jets had reached the town, and everyone scrambled. The 262s opened fire on a building, blowing up the whole structure. Two soldiers were sent flying, as the soldiers all scrambled in panic. "Incoming!", Edward yelled, firing his BAR in the air. The roars of the jets deafened everyone as they shot around in different directions. A jet bombarded a house, instantly blowing it up. A soldier was caught in the blast, and was immediately disintegrated. Twilight, a soldier, and Applejack shot towards Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hid with a squad of soldiers at the town square. Jones and Rarity ducked under Carousel Boutique's rubble. Two 50 Calibers on a Sherman and a Hellcat opened fire on the sky, a jet flying past. The flak guns filled the sky above the town square with shrapnel and smoke, making the town square a no-fly zone. A jet strafed the ground, killing two more soldiers. Otto and Dieter ducked behind a Kübelwagen, while an American on the Kübelwagen fired its MG-42. Pinkie Pie ducked under a house and grabbed her party cannon. She stuffed a load into the cannon and aimed it in the sky. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!", Pinkie Pie yelled. She fired a cluster of fireworks into the air, sparks and fire exploding in the sky as a spectacular scene. The screams and pops of the fireworks was deafening, and everyone covered their ears. "What the hell?!", Jones cried. The only ones who weren't covering their ears were Edward and the soldiers manning guns against the jets. A firework flew into the jet engine of a 262, and exploded. The whole wing went up in flames, and the jet spiraled towards the ground. "Maifeiertag!!", the pilot cried, before he quickly ejected out of the jet, his parachute inflating as he floated down to safety. (FYI, they had ejection seats back then) Twilight looked up, to see the jet flying towards Sugarcube Corner. Her eyes widened in horror, and she turned to see Applejack and the soldier pushing a table as a barricade against the door. "Look out!!", Twilight cried. She teleported herself and Applejack out of the store, but the soldier was left behind. "Wait!!", he cried, before the jet impacted against the store. A massive explosion demolished the bakery, a humongous cloud of smoke rising. The force of the explosion was enough to send all the jeeps, both American and German, tumbling. Otto and Dieter crashed against a wall, as the American MG gunner was flung onto a roof. Edward and a soldier flew into the side of a Tiger, and a jeep fell on its side in front of them, shielding them from any incoming debris. The gunners on the tanks fell off, as the 50 Calibers stop The pilot landed on the ground, as he grabbed his MP-40. He stared at the fire, before he came to his senses and ran to cover. Pinkie Pie stared at the burning building that was once her home. Her mane instantly deflated, becoming smooth and flat. Edward slowly recovered from the blast, to see Pinkie Pie just staring at the burning wreck. The soldier slowly crawled out of the fire, his clothes on fire. He tried to get up, only to fall dead on the ground, the fire slowly eating away at his body. Pinkie Pie stared up at a jet, its main guns firing at her. A round hit the ground near her, dirt flying on her mane. Edward grabbed the frozen pony and ran back to cover. He jumped over the jeep, and set Pinkie down. "Hey, you good?", he asked. Pinkie slowly stared over at him. A grin slowly etched its way onto her face. "Everything's fine...", she said. Edward just nodded. "Good, now let's get going. We have to get out of the open before this cover's done for.", he said. He peeked out from behind the jeep, watching out for more jets or any other potential threats. He didn't see Pinkie with the butcher's knife in her hoof, aiming down the back of his neck. Author's Note Cliffhangers, yay.
Something DifferentView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarSomething DifferentNear Ponyville, Lena stared out at the jets strafing the town. She was pacing the ground in panic. "OK, I may be a killer, but this was not my fault!", she said. She looked down at her reflection. "OK, maybe it is.", Lena muttered. She looked at the bloody goggles on her head. "A little..." Then a rumbling rippled and dispersed her reflection, and looked up. "Oh, what the buck now?!", she cried. Several A-22 Churchill tanks were rolling up the hill, BREN machine guns mounted on the bow, the cannon, and on top of the turret. Lena hid behind a tree as the British tanks rolled by. "What?", Lena said. She looked down the hill, and her eyes widened. A large blue portal was open, and a line of Churchills were rolling through it. The last tank rolled through, and the portal closed. "Who's...doing that?", she said. In Ponyville, Edward was surveying the area, when he heard a crack. He turned, to see Pinkie and the other soldier he was with fighting over the knife. "What the-", Edward said, before Pinkie headbutted the soldier through his helmet. The impact didn't hurt him, but it was still enough to get him off her. "Come here, Eddie!", Pinkie giggled, clutching the knife. Edward's eyes widened and he ran off, a psychopathic mare chasing after him. Nearby, an American with a Browning M1919A6 and Dieter with a Luger were holding their ground, when Edward ran over the, tripping on the Browning. He tumbled to the ground and hid behind the building they were near. "Lieutenant?!", the soldier cried. "Run!!", Edward yelled. He pointed at Pinkie, who was galloping at him full speed with a knife. Dieter and the other soldier quickly got up and ran, Edward. The three ran through the town, a pink mare chasing them. Two groups of soldiers nearby saw them running, as well as the knife in Pinkie's mouth, and they dropped their guns and ran off in panic. Twilight and Applejack had teleported at the town square, where the soldiers, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were hiding. "Twilight!", Rainbow Dash said. Applejack and Twilight were still dizzy from the sudden teleportation that had been pulled off, so some soldiers hurried over and carried them to safety. "What happened?", Fluttershy asked. "One of them crashed into the Sweet Shoppe at Sugarcube Corner...", Twilight panted. Then several screams caught their attention. They turned, to see a massive horde of soldiers running and screaming as they were chased by a pink pony with a knife. Jones and Rarity stared at the sight. "What the...", Jones muttered. The soldiers all scrambled on top of a Tiger and a halftrack, trying to get away from Pinkie. The soldiers jabbed at her with their rifles, trying to keep her away. "Oh, come now. Your arms will keep getting tired.", Pinkie said, slowly making her way to the vehicles. "Drive!!", Edward yelled. The Tiger and the halftrack pulled away, driving away. The Tiger was driving at twenty miles per hour, while the halftrack pulled away at two times the speed. "Cover fire!!", a soldier yelled. Every soldier who had their guns started firing at Pinkie, gunfire ripping through the air. Up above, a jet pilot looked down at the town, and his eyes widened at what he saw. He saw a halftrack overflowing with soldiers, with a pink spot chasing it. "Was zum Teufel?", he muttered. Lena was still hiding behind the tree, when she heard gunfire. She turned, to see a somewhat slow halftrack towered with soldiers, with a pink mare holding a knife trotting towards them. "Go faster!!", a soldier yelled. "Damn it, you don't think I'm trying?! The gas is under the damn truck!!", the driver yelled. He kicked the truck, just as it rolled over a patch of poison joke. The halftrack began to rumble, and the halftrack stopped. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!", another soldier said. "I dunno!!", the driver said. Then the halftrack started shaking, and everyone panicked, jumping out. the driver kept hitting the gas "What the shit, dude?!", a soldier said. "That's it! We're dead!!" Then the halftrack raced away at over seventy miles an hour. The horde of soldiers and Pinkie stared at the truck. "HELP!!!", the driver screamed. "What?", Edward muttered. They all looked at Pinkie, before their eyes widened. "Wait!! Wait for us!!", Edward yelled. "I CAN'T!!", the driver yelled. He could only steer the halftrack around in an attempt to tire it out. The Churchill tanks reached the top of the hill, only to see at least sixty soldiers chasing a halftrack that was way too fast. The tank commander blinked, before lowering himself down the hatch and locking himself in. The halftrack eventually spun itself on its side, and the wheels stopped moving. The panting soldiers reached the halftrack, before collapsing around it. Pinkie reached the scene. Her mane was all poofy and puffy again. "Hey, what's going on?", she asked. All the soldiers suddenly regained their energy again, jumping over and hiding behing the overturned vehicle. Pinkie Pie tilted her head. "What's wrong?", she asked. A line of soldiers aimed M-1 Garands and M-1 Carbines at Pinkie. "Stay back!", a soldier said. "Drop the knife!", another guy said. "We'll shoot you!!", another soldier said. Pinkie Pie stared in horror and confusion. Then Twilight came in. "Hey, what're you doing?!", Twilight cried. "She's mad!!" "She tried to kill us!!" "What the hell's wrong with you?!" "She needs to be locked up!!" "She had a knife!!" Twilight looked to Pinkie, who looked down sadly. "She came out again...", she said, Twilight understood what she was talking about. Then she turned to the panicked soldiers. "Pinkie has something to tell you.", she said. Pinkie explained her childhood, her earning of her cutie mark, how it affected her state of mind, and how she'd gained a split personality because of that. The soldiers were very understanding, much to Pinkie Pie's and Twilight's surprise. "She's bipolar?", a soldier said. "Yes...", Twilight said. The soldiers stood awkwardly around. "Well then...", he said. "Hey!!" The Churchill company rolled in. "What's going on?", the commander asked. Twilight sighed. "Go back to town. I'll talk to these guys.", she said. The soldiers left the overturned halftrack and walked back with Pinkie. When they reached the town, everyone was silent. Then everyone slowly apologized to Pinkie, all awkwardly and flustered. "It's OK...I don't blame you.", Pinkie said. "Hey, how about a reconciliation party?" "OK?", Edward asked. "YAY!!!", Pinkie Pie screamed, and she zoomed off. "That's weird.", Jones said. Then Pinkie Pie came back. "Oh, it's gone...", she said, remembering that the Sweet Shoppe was destroyed. "So, no party then, huh?", a soldier asked. "It's fine. Not like we need one.", Edward said, slinging his BAR over his shoulder. Back at the outskirts, Twilight was still talking to the Churchill commander, who was taking this very well to her surprise, when Lena peeked out of the tree, the crossbow aiming at Twilight. "I was hired to take you out, and that's what I'm going to do...", Lena said, as her crosshairs locked onto Twilight's forehead, just below her horn. She was about to fire, when the incendiary arrow loaded in fizzled out. She saw a tiny black dart embedded in the arrow in her crossbow, and judging by the angle, it was fired from behind her.. Lena looked behind her and gasped at who she saw. Twilight heard a gunshot, and then a massive boom. She and the Churchill commander turned around. "What the...", the British commander said. In Ponyville, everyone jumped up, weapons at hand. "What the hell was that?", Jones said. Applejack looked around, suspiciously. In the Crystal Empire, the Changelings and German troops were looking around. Jack and Ahti looked out the window. "Mein Gott...", Jack said. Shining Armor and Cadence looked up, and Flurry Heart let out a whimper. Thorax and the Changelings stood up, as the Crystal ponies slowly hid into their houses. Ember, the dragons, and the Russians got up. The soldiers looked around. "What was that?", Ember said. No one all over Equestria could see what was going on, but Celestia knew what was coming. "It's coming...", she said, looking at the sky. In the distance, everyone could hear a distinct cackling echoing throughout Equestria...
It Begins (Season One Finale)View OnlineThe Horrors Of WarIt Begins (Season One Finale)Everyone looked around, waiting to see what would happen. Everyone grabbed their weapons and began to set up cover. Twilight turned around, and the ground began to rumble. The Churchill tanks began to swivel around in alarm. "Excuse me, but do you know what that is?", the Churchill commander Twilight was talking to asked. Twilight just shook her head. She was just as worried as he was. "What in Tartarus...", Twilight muttered. A loud explosion caught the attention of everyone in Ponyville, as a massive plume of shadows shot into the sky. Twilight gasped, as the Churchill tanks quickly drove to the town. The BT-7 tanks were immediately moving to engage the plumes, several Russian infantry on the backs of the tanks. More shadow clones were galloping to Ponyville, roaring with ferocity. Lena flew out of the tree she was hiding behind, with a shadow clone chasing her, its black horn glowing with dark aura. "We're under attack!!", a Churchill commander said. His tank fired its 75mm gun. BREN fire filled the air, as Twilight panicked and backed away. "Fire!", the British tank company commander yelled. Two Churchill Mk.VII A22F, a Churchill Mk.VII CS, and three Churchill Mk.XI CS tanks fired their pounder cannons with HE shells, the explosions ripping through the invasion. One Churchill AVRE was armed with a 290mm Spigot mortar. The siege tank fired, a large patch of ground exploding. The wave of BT-7 tanks fired their 45mm guns, and both the Soviet and British tanks opened fire with their BREN and DP light machine guns. One of the tank crew members of the Churchill AVRE had the top of his body sticking out the turret to reload the 290mm barrel. The commander was firing the BREN to cover the reloading. Twilight quickly galloped away as a Tiger rolled towards the battle. She stumbled and tripped when she felt the force of an 88 firing. A jeep pulled up to the alicorn, two soldiers inside. "Get in!", the soldier at the wheel said. The other soldier jumped out and pulled Twilight into the vehicle before the jeep pulled away. Twilight watched as the line of tanks were backing away from the invasion. A Crocodile Churchill and several Soviet tanks armed with turret mounted ROKS fired bursts of liquid flame through the clone army. Lena was facing off against the shadow clone that ambushed her, when a Churchill unknowingly flattened the shadow pony. "Fall back!", the Churchill commander yelled. At once, all the tanks backed away at full speed, guns still blazing. The soldiers in Ponyville saw the armies charging, and they immediately fell into an organized panic. The engineers started filling up sandbags, and the light machine guns were set up. Lines of riflemen fell into position, guns aimed and waiting to be fired. "Wait!!", Edward said, as the rifles were aimed at the enemy. The tanks fell back down the hill, and immediately scattered, pulling into large alleys and behind buildings. A Churchill fired its Spigot and fell back again. Once that tank was out of the way, all the waiting infantry had a clear line of sight. "Now!", Edward said. Gunfire ripped through waves and waves of shadow ponies, each body evaporating once dead. The jeep pulled up behind the firing lines, Mosin Nagants, Gewehrs, and Garands blazing. The King Tiger fired an AP round, blowing out a column of enemy ponies. Twilight jumped off, and hid in an empty space at the sandbags, between an MG-42 and a soldier with a Thompson. She quickly looked at the scene, to see endless waves of ponies behind the hill. "Not again...", she said. Celestia watched the horror, as Ponyville was forced into battle once again. "If I don't tell them...it'll never stop.", she thought. She let out a shaky sigh. "This has to stop.", she said. She closed her eyes and her horn glowed, to open a massive portal that was five meters tall and four meters wide. "Hold the line!", Edward said. He reloaded his BAR for the third time and fired a three round burst that put down another pony. Twilight fired a burst of wave magic that pushed back a big group of ponies. She turned and saw the rest of her friends hiding behind a Sherman. Jones had a Grease Gun, protecting them. Twilight got up and galloped over to her friends, when she felt something. "What the...", she said. Then a loud boom filled the air. Everyone froze, and jumped when the back of the hill exploded violently. A massive shockwave blasted the shadow ponies away, killing them all. The wave sent everyone flying, the tanks crashing back, and the soldiers landing on buildings and walls. The screeching of the manipulated wind ripped through the town. Soon, all the sound was gone. And all that was there was a huge cloud of smoke that blanketed the sun. Bits of dust fell from the sky, and soon, everyone's uniforms were covered in powdery ash. The sky was dark, and everything was cold. Everyone slowly got up, looking around. "What the hell was that?", Edward asked. He coughed as the ash rained down on his helmet. He picked up his BAR and blew on it, the ash flying off with a slightly audible *poof*. "Sir!", a soldier said, pointing to the back. Edward and everyone turned to see something they never thought they'd see. A Karl-Gerät was sitting in the back of Ponyville, its large 600mm barrel smoking. Its rear mechanism was winding back, enveloped in a golden aura. Celestia sighed as she released the Karl-Gerät from her magic. She hoped with all her might she'd never have to fire that thing again. The soldiers walked over to the giant siege engine, and the pile of 600mm explosive mortar shells next to it. "Where...did...that...", a soldier muttered. They reached the siege mortar, its grooved barrel glaring up at the sky. Celestia sighed and walked up to the soldiers. "What...the...hell?", Edward said, clearly angry at what just happened. "We could've been killed!!" "They were going to overrun you. I did what I had to do.", Celestia said. She looked up, and sighed. She fired a beam from her horn towards the cloud of ash. Within seconds, rays of sunlight shot through the ash, until the sun shot through. The brightness of day shone on the dark town, causing everyone to cover their eyes briefly. "I'm sorry.", Celestia said. "Hey...don't endanger us again.", Edward said, more softly again. Celestia looked up at the massive self-propelled artillery machine, which there were Americans now boarding. Edward walked over to the Churchill company commander, who was talking to the commander of the Spigot Churchill. "Hey, I'm Edward, US Army Lieutenant.", Edward said, holding out a hand. The commander turned to Edward and shook his hand. "Commander Nalton, 3rd Royal Armored Regiment.", he said. He looked to the town, or what was left of it. "You might have some explaining to do, friend.", Nalton said. Twilight and Spike watched as the battle turned into a cleanup, soldiers and vehicles moving about like this place was a military base. Then Spike choked and breathed out a letter, which bounced off of Twilight's head. "Oh...sorry.", Spike said, pounding his chest to control his breathing. "It's fine.", Twilight said, as she picked up the letter and unfolded it, reading it. "Dear Twily, I've been thinking of visiting, but I'm not sure if you have the time. I'd love to see you and your friends again. Cadence and Flurry Heart are coming too. What do you say? Sincerely, your BBBFF P.S. Cadence and Flurry Heart say hi!" Twilight almost jumped off the ground in joy, as she excitedly thought of seeing her brother and sister-in-law again, before a Tiger rolled by, shaking her back into reality. Twilight put down the letter, now in deep thought. "I do want to see Shining Armor again, but with all this going on...", she thought. "I don't know if this is the best idea to invite him over at a time like this." "Twilight? What's going on? What'd the letter say?", Spike asked. "Shining Armor asked if he could come over and visit. But I'm not sure if he knows what's going on.", Twilight said. "And I don't want Cadence or Flurry Heart to get hurt." "But if you leave them out, they'll get mad. And besides, Celestia most likely warned them. I think it's safe for them to come over.", Spike said. "...OK. I trust you, Spike.", Twilight said, as she began to reply on the back of the letter. "Dear BBBFF There's something big going on, and I'm not sure if you'll like it, but I'd be grateful if you visited, bro. We could catch up, and we definitely could use some help here. Thank you, your little sister" Twilight gave the letter to Spike, who sent it immediately. Twilight groaned as she sat down. "What have I done...", she muttered. "What? I thought you just said-", Spike said. "Yeah, not that. I was just thinking about how all of this could've been avoided...", Twilight said. "Ponies and humans are dead because of me." "No, the Pony Of Shadows got them killed.", Spike said. "Remember, you only brought those two boats here. There's no way you could've teleported the others." Before Twilight could reply, the rumbling of a vehicle filled the air. Several A7V Sturmpanzerwagens rolled in(yes, I'm surprised by the name too) On the back of the leading A7V, Lena was tied up to the rear vent behind the hatch, with a soldier armed with a Gewehr, watching her under his cap. The commander held his hand up, and all the tanks stopped, as they saw Edward and Otto walking towards them. "Halt.", the commander said, as he hopped of the tank, stumbling from the tall vehicle. Otto and the commander spoke some German for a brief moment, before introducing the commander to Edward. "First Lieutenant Auftragsmörder of the Obsolete Division.", Otto said. "Name of his division explains a lot, ja?" Edward chuckled, as he shook hands with Auftragsmörder. "Nice to meet you.", he said. "Likewise. Our A7Vs look old, but we've made it 3 years.", Auftragsmörder said. "Just a few months into 1921." Edward blinked. "What? No, it's 1944.", he said. Otto shook his head. "You're both wrong. It's 1943.", he said. The three stared at each other in disbelief. "You know...I think we're all drunk right now.", Auftragsmörder said. He pulled Lena off his tank, whom the soldier watching her had rudely tossed down. "Wow...", Lena mumbled. "Completely polite.", she said. "Isn't she adorable?", Auftragsmörder said. Lena squirmed her tied up body in his arms, trying to get free. "Anyway, how'd you get here?", Otto asked. "I don't know...", Auftragsmörder said. "We saw a light and the next thing we know, we're fighting off black glowing horses." Edward nodded. "You too?", he said. "We were attacking you guys at Normandy and..." Twilight watched as Edward conversed with the newcomers, with a less than pleased Lena in the new German's grasp. "My dear ex-student." Celestia trotted up to Twilight, a look of somberness in her features. Twilight looked up at the sun princess. "What's wrong, princess?", Twilight said. "I have a confession...", Celestia said. "It's my fault all of this happened." Edward, who was still talking to Auftragsmörder and Otto, turned around. "I too wanted to explore the dimensions and spread peace and friendship around, all for the sake of happiness.", Celestia said. Flashback: a couple weeks ago. Celestia entered the portal to the empty town around her. She was invisible to anyone inside, choosing to come in for a little reconnaissance. She stared up at the wrecked buildings, and smoking objects in the village. The tower up above was shattered around the building it once stood proudly upon. She trotted around town, and strolled throughout the fields. Only, they weren't fields anymore. The grass was gone, and there were downed trees. burning carts, bits of wood everywhere. She wandered for hours through the fields, before a bang filled the air. Another bang, then another. There was a cry, then a scream, then a roar. An explosion ripped through the muddy puddle in front of her, drenching her in water. Luckily for Celestia, her invisibility spell held. There was a scream. Then another. Then another. Then thousands of roars deafened the fields. Celestia hid behind a cart, and looked behind her. Then came the charge. Celestia gasped as hundreds of human soldiers wearing strange helmets and muddy coats charged past her, screaming and attacking with those strange weapons with knives attached. It went well at first, before a loud rat-tat-tat-tat-tat filled the air. Then they started dropping like flies. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, falling on the ground, in the water, against the barbed wire. Celestia stayed silent in horror, as the last of the charge dwindled away. "What world have I stumbled upon?", she muttered. Then screams were heard again. The second wave climbed out from the ground behind her, and continued to charge. then more explosions ripped the field apart once again. Hundreds died, but this charge was well into the thousands. Numbers didn't matter to Celestia. Death was death. In her thousand years of ruling Equetsria, never had she seen so much death in a period of five minutes. Celestia crept her way backwards, until she crashed down a pit, bouncing off a ladder, and hitting a wooden ground. She quickly recovered and looked around, before seeing she was in a trench, where a young soldier was just climbing up the ladder. She herself climbed up the ladder, only to see what the boy was running into. Barbed wire everywhere strained under the weight of bloody corpses. Screaming wounded crawled back to the trenches, some dying before reaching safety. Celestia choked on the horrible sights, and with a frightened state of mind, retreated as fast as she could to the portal. (0:00-0:30) Edward blinked. "Why the fuck would you do that?", he said. Celestia sighed. "I was naive. I was the first to do this, and I thought that would be the last I would've seen of...of...that.", she said. "I guess I was wrong." "So what do we do now?", Twilight said. "You unintentionally brought a whole war to Equestria, as did I, so what can we do to stop this?" Edward stepped up. "I have a plan.", the lieutenant said. (00:30-1:00) "This is Jones of the 3rd Armored Division, does anyone..." "Komm rein, komm rein, ist da jemand?" "Sergeant Jackson of the 2nd Infantry Machine Gun Battalion..." "Commander Nalton, 3rd Royal Armored Regiment, is anyone here?" "If there's anyone on this frequency, please respond." Edward looked to the soldiers on the radios, portable and tank radios. "We're hailing every frequency in the book. If there's anyone here, they'll answer.", he said. "I see. You're calling for reinforcements?", Twilight asked. "We don't have a choice. It's work together, or die alone.", Edward said. "Sir, we got something!", Jones said. Edward ran over and grabbed the transmission. "Dies ist die deutsche Testgruppe des Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus. Ist jemand da?" (1:00-1:30) A Panzerkampfwagen Maus and two Panzer IV Ausf. J types rolled in the middle of nowhere. The commander was on the radio. "Wir hören Ihre Anfrage und sind bereit zu helfen. Wir sind unterwegs, während wir sprechen.", the commander said. As he spoke, two ME BF 109s and a Focke Wulfe 190 flew overhead. Celestia smiled. "Enemies, coming together. I never thought I'd see this happen.", she said. "Yeah, really makes you think, doesn't it?", Edward said. Just then, a noise came in from the left. A whole blitzkrieg of Panzers rolled in, at least thirty Panzer IVs and forty Panzer IIIs. On the other side of town, two Sturmtigers and a contingent of Panzer IIs rolled up, with a group of M3 Lees. (2:00-2:03) Celestia looked out above Ponyville, as a group of B-17s and P-47s flew overhead. "Look out, because the shadows will be brought to the light.", she thought. (2:03-2:40) The view zoomed out of Ponyville, to show thousands of vehicles and infantry making their way to the wrecked little town, as well as hundreds of planes flying towards Ponyville. The zooming out of the view of all of Equestria reached the Crystal Empire, where Jack, Ahti, Thorax, the contingent of Nazi flame specialists, Shining Armor, Cadence, and Flurry Heart stood before a massive shadowy creature. The creature cackled, before pupils of pure white were cast down against the leader of the Germans. "Lucky me.", the monster growled. Jack smirked, his cigarette burning out. "Wollen wir wetten?", he snarled. His Flammenwerfer growled. (2:40-2:48) TO BE CONTINUED Somewhere else(completely somewhere else, different dimension) Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash sat in Canterlot Castle, when a young Pegasus with a rainbow mane and a nun-chuck cutie mark galloped in. "Mom!", the Pegasus said. "Look who I found!" "What is it, Rainbow Light...", Twilight said, before a figure walked in behind her daughter. A human wearing green fatigues and a green helmet walked up, a sawed-off shotgun on his back. "Evening, ma'am.", the man said, a Southern drawl in his voice. Author's Note That's it for Season One!! To be honest, the finale was the hardest I had to write yet. Then I found the song. Thanks for reading, and I guarantee there will be a Season 2 soon! Shout-out to all the readers and commenters for your feedback.
Author's NoteView OnlineThe Horrors Of WarAuthor's NoteI'm willing to take suggestions for the next chapter, ideas on which side should come in next, how the battle would go, and new OCs, pony and human. I would appreciate it if you would leave the plot to me. Thank you.
